UMNO President Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi commented on his reunion with former UMNO Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin or KJ, saying the latter was ‘nervous’ to share the stage with him for past mistakes he made.
He commented on KJ’s criticism of him after being subjected to disciplinary action, which resulted in KJ’s expulsion from the party, three years ago.
“KJ is nervous to speak and share the stage with me tonight; he is nervous because he knows he once made a mistake.
“But leaders with a big soul will never leave the party. I also admit that maybe I have made mistakes,” he said while speaking at the Himpunan Anak Tiram programme in Kota Masai here last night (July 3).
However, Zahid stated he has fully forgiven KJ for all past criticisms, adding that while they might not be outwardly affectionate, their hearts are reunited for the sake of the UMNO and Barisan Nasional (BN) struggle.
“Even though people do not see me kissing on the mouth with KJ, our hearts are united again because of the UMNO struggle, the BN struggle.
“It is not easy to accept what has KJ not said about me, but I completely forgive whatever mistakes that were ever committed by him,” he said.
Meanwhile, he said he was in an awkward position when it came to the federal government and the elections in Johor.
He said he is being stuck like a “sandwich”, flanked by Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on his right and DAP Secretary-General Anthony Loke Siew Fook on his left.
He reminded PH leaders that they should be grateful to BN. He pointed out that PH’s 82 parliamentary seats were insufficient to govern, and they only managed to form the federal government because BN backed them with its 30 seats. — July 4, 2026
