KJ still mulling PN offer, 'uneasy' with Harapan due to cybertroopers

KJ still mulling PN offer, 'uneasy' with Harapan due to cybertroopers


Khairy Jamaluddin today implied he turned down an offer to join Perikatan Nasional (PN) during his meeting with Muhyiddin Yassin on Monday.

However, he said Muhyiddin asked him to give it some more thought - and that he complied with the request.

“He (Muhyiddin) offered me Bersatu membership and a chance to participate in the state elections.

“I met him and gave him my views, and then he asked me to think about it further.

“I agreed to mull it over some more, and asked him for more time,” Khairy said in the latest episode of his podcast which aired today.

Asked by his co-host Shahril Hamdan whether he gave a final answer, Khairy replied he had but agreed to consider it further out of respect.

Speculation was rife as to whether Khairy had decided to join PN after meeting Muhyiddin on Monday.

A PN source claimed Khairy would not be joining any party but would be campaigning for the coalition in the state polls.

Meanwhile, claims spread on social media that Khairy would be made an “appointed deputy president” in Bersatu.

Addressing the claims, the former Rembau MP said he found such fake news distasteful, and blamed it on Pakatan Harapan cyber troopers.

“I want to tell Harapan cytros (cybertroopers), don’t spread fake news, it’s unethical in politics.

“One of the reasons that I myself, and I think a large number of the public, is uneasy with Harapan is because of the behaviour of their cytros,” he said.

On the other hand, Khairy said his meeting with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim last Friday was purely to talk about the country’s economy.

He said he received an invite from the Prime Minister’s Office and met with Anwar, along with other prominent individuals, including former finance minister II Johari Ghani.

“It was not about politics but more about ideas related to the economy and before the end of the meeting, the prime minister said he may call back in a month the group I was in to look at the draft of the Madani economic narrative to continue giving our input.

“So for me, there is no problem, even though I am not a member of Harapan or BN that is the core of the existing government.

“Why did I go? I consider it a national service. The country's prime minister called me, and I do not care which prime minister… I go and give my opinions, no strings attached and that’s all,” the former minister said.

Khairy with podcast co-host Shahril Sufian Hamdan


Separately, Khairy slammed Kuantan MP Wan Razali Wan Nor for his comment on women nurses’ uniforms being too “tight” and not syariah-compliant during the debate on the Health White Paper in the Dewan Rakyat last week.

As the former health minister who initiated the process of the Health White Paper, Khairy said he wanted Parliament to discuss serious issues related to the country’s healthcare system and not a “non-issue” like nurses’ uniforms.

“I know this is not the only issue he raised but why did he even have to raise this? It is actually a non-issue.

“The most frustrating part is that with this statement, he has confirmed PAS stereotypes… that PAS does not have any other issues, that PAS is conservative,” he said.

PAS has made efforts in recent years to be more inclusive, he said, with a line-up of leaders that includes more professionals and not just religious scholars.

From his experience working with PAS ministers in the same cabinet in the previous administration, he said ministers from the Islamist party such as Takiyuddin Hassan and Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man do not portray the same stereotypes as Wan Razali.

“But you only need one statement to remind the people that behind the new professional image, PAS is still the old PAS,” Khairy said.