JELEBU: Umno is ready to accept back leaders and members who were removed during the cleansing process carried out by the party after the last general election, a party Supreme Council member said.
Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias said a second chance will be given to leaders and members who remain loyal and still believe in the struggles championed by Umno, despite having had their membership revoked or being sacked from the party.
Jalaluddin, who is also the Negri Sembilan Umno liaison committee chairman, said he was aware that some of those who were removed from the party now want to return and become Umno members again after seeing the current state of the party.
"In Negri Sembilan, the state Umno secretary and divisional secretaries have been instructed to vet and consider applications only from those who still demonstrate loyalty to and alignment with the party's struggles.
"The 'whitening' (cleansing) process previously carried out by the party aimed to remove those who were no longer interested in Umni and believed the party would become weak," he told reporters launching the Amar Penghulu Umno branch meeting at the Dewan Budaya Kampung Amar Penghulu here last night.
Contrary to the views of critics, Jalaluddin said the party's cleansing process did not disrupt Umno's strength and stability, as branches throughout the state managed to hold their respective meetings according to schedule.
He said there are divisions like in Jelebu, which saw the opening of new branches, thereby increasing the number of party members.
"Umno has gone through various trials and challenges and faced many problems. The uniqueness of the party is that when faced with problems, it adopted methods to overcome them," he said.
On a related matter, Jalaluddin said efforts to strengthen the party, development, and governance are among the most received proposals from Umno branches, which have already convened their meetings.
He added that the state party leadership will hold a meeting to review the proposals and take the next course of action once all Umno branches have completed their meetings.
Since early last year, Umno has terminated the membership of a number of top leaders from the party, including former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, former Tanjong Karang member of Parliament Tan Sri Noh Omar and former Umno Supreme Council member Isham Jalil.
Umno has also suspended several leaders, including Sembrong MP Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and former Umno information chief Shahril Sufian Hamdan.