KUALA LUMPUR: Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has given his assurance that he is ready to "fight" in the party elections, Khairy Jamaluddin said.
The former Rembau member of parliament, in an Instagram story, said he met Zahid today, during which the latter said he was ready to defend his post as party president.
"Alhamdulillah, this morning, I met the president and he told me, while we were shaking hands, that he is ready to fight," he said.
"It means the president himself is ready to face any challenger in the party election and I salute him for his bravery.
"It also means that if any motion made for the top two positions to be uncontested, then it is against the president's bravery. Allow for all party positions to be contested. Let's be brave."
Earlier, Khairy said putting a stop to any form of contests for the No. 1 post would be detrimental to the democratic process and that Zahid was a "fighter".
Khairy said this in response to the call by 140 Umno divisions yesterday for the party president's and deputy president's posts to remain uncontested.
The Umno polls were expected to be held before May 19 this year, after it made a request to the Registry of Societies last year to hold the election after the 15th General Election.