On January 27, UMNO secretary-general Ahmad Maslan announced the expulsion of former Rembau MP and Minister of Health Khairy Jamaluddin and former Selangor Umno chief Noh Omar following a Supreme Council meeting. In addition to the expulsion of Khairy and Noh from UMNO, 42 other members were also expelled: five from Pasir Gudang, two from Tanjung Kara, nine from Putrajaya, and 26 from Pahang. The secretary-general also announced the six-year suspension of former Umno Minister of Defence Hishammuddin Hussein, former UMNO information chief Shahril Hamdan, Tebrau division chief Maulizan Bujang, former UMNO Youth exco member Fathul Bari Mat Jahya, and former Jempol MP Salim Sharif. Noh Omar was initially set to also be suspended but had asked to be sacked from the party.
On January 26, UMNO president Zahid Hamidi stated that the party was seeking a “mass cleansing” to address those in the party that had acted as “saboteurs” and those who “shot themselves in the foot in last November’s general election.” Khairy had previously called for UMNO president Zahid’s resignation and for internal cleansing in the party. Hishammuddin was alleged to have led a separate faction within UMNO against Zahid and was one of ten BN MPs who had declared support for Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister after GE15. According to the secretary-general, members were penalized for breaching party discipline during the 15th General Election, and the actions undertaken were in line with UMNO’s constitution. The offenses included contesting as an independent candidate or under a different party banner and involvement in assisting rival parties during the 15th General Election (GE15) in 2022. In a Facebook post, Supreme Council member Mohd Puad Zarkashi confirmed the sackings and suspensions, labeling the decisions as a total cleansing that was bitter but necessary for the party. The cleansing comes ahead of the UMNO party polls, which will run from February 1 to March 18 and campaigns have already begun.
