Monday, January 03, 2011

Khairy to withdraw from re-contesting Rembau

Umno Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin confirmed speculations that he will 'stand down' from contesting the Negeri Sembilan parliamentary seat of Rembau, which he currently holds, in the next general elections.

Malay-language news website M-Star quoted the MP replying with a terse "Yes" via text message when asked if he is serious about not re-contesting the seat.

Khairy had earlier tweeted that he is taking a break from politics and wanted to focus on other things, fueling speculations that he will not be returning to Parliament.

"Hope to help win more youth support for BN in 2011 & work hard preparing for elections. Then I'm taking a break from politics. Can't wait," said Khairy in a posting on Twitter.

He added in another tweet that intended to 'stand down' in order to focus on a couple of things he said he would like to do before it gets too late, without elaborating.

Asked by M-Star how long his 'break' is going to be, the Umno Youth chief was elusive.

"I don't know. I am not sure what I will do. Some of the things I want to do first, like further my education," said the Oxford graduate.

Despite his remarks about “other things”, his standing down from contesting may be a reaction to his being apparently sidelined in the BN government.

Unlike his predecessors, Khairy was not given a ministerial post despite being elected Umno Youth leader, an exception that some believe is a sore point for the youth leader.
 

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