‘ALL BY HIMSELF’ KHAIRY TO STICK WITH UMNO FOR NOW: BUT FOR HOW LONG WILL HE WASTE HIS TIME ON NAJIB & ZAHID’S ‘NO FUTURE’ PARTY?

KUALA LUMPUR- Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin says he is “still with Umno” although he refused to join a walkout staged by his fellow opposition MPs in Parliament on Monday morning (July 16).

He said he wanted to be an exemplary opposition MP, so he decided not to join the protest by lawmakers from Barisan Nasional and Parti Islam SeMalaysia over the appointment of retired judge Mohamad Ariff Yusof as Speaker. The opposition said the appointment process was not transparent.

“I am an Umno member and I know my limits. But when I am required to give my opinions, I will give them according to what I think it is right,” Khairy said, adding that he was only speaking for himself.

“We have to respect the House and the swearing-in ceremony,” said the former youth and sports minister.

He said lawmakers should instead express their dissatisfaction during debates which will be held after the Parliament is officially opened by the Malaysian king, Sultan Muhammad V, on Tuesday.

“We can protest during debates or after the officiating ceremony tomorrow. To me, it’s better if we respect the ceremony and not resort to any actions that might undermine Barisan’s image as a credible opposition.”

Both Khairy and Kimanis MP Anifah Aman remained seated in the House during the walkout.

Asked if he would be called up for not following the party whip, Khairy said: “I don’t know.” — https://www.straitstimes.com/

Social media spawns Khairy memes after he remains during BN-PAS Parliament walkout

PETALING JAYA: The image of Khairy Jamaluddin sitting alone at the Opposition side of the Dewan Rakyat has spawned a flurry of hilarious memes on social media.

One meme illustrated Khairy’s loneliness as similar to when “you send a text on WhatsApp in the group but nobody bothers with you”.

One of the memes posted by Facebook page Says Seismik compared the loneliness of the Rembau MP to that of Marvel films’ fans. The meme said: “When you wait for the ending credits of a Marvel movie”.

Facebook page Rojak Daily stepped up the creation of Khairy inspired lonely memes.

In one meme, it said: “waiting for your friends to arrive, only to realise you have no friends”.

One of its memes also made a reference to the online multiplayer battle royale game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG).

“Your PUBG squad: Let’s stick together, three minutes later…,” the meme read.

Facebook page Says posted the feeling of being alone: “when you come to school after the final exam”.

However, as social media users had a field day with the Khairy memes, Facebook user Nicholas Ooi Nick felt that the memes were inappropriate.

“I think we shouldn’t make more fun on this. KJ (Khairy) is really showing professionalism and respect for the dewan parliament,” he said.

Meanwhile, Siva Sangaran saluted Khairy for his bold decision.

“You truly respect your voters and your dignity. At least now you are free to listen to your mind and do what you think is right,” he said.

Norshuhada Mohd Isa said Khairy was just being professional.

“Truly respect him,” she said.

Xinwei Yeap said that the memes did not mean disrespect.

“(It) depends on the caption, this is just pure funny,” she said.

Earlier, Opposition MPs from Umno and PAS walked out of the Dewan Rakyat after Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof was sworn in as the Speaker for the 14th Parliament.

Khairy and Kimanis MP Datuk Seri Anifah Aman did not participate in the walkout and had stayed.

Khairy said he decided not to join the walkout because he wanted to be an exemplary Opposition MP and to respect the swearing-in process. He added that a protest could be done in other ways.

– ANN