During the 15th General Election, Mr Khairy was moved from his seat in Rembau, Negeri Sembilan to contest in Sungai Buloh, Selangor. He eventually lost to Pakatan Harapan’s K Ramanan in a seven-cornered contest.
The states of Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Negeri Sembilan, Penang and Selangor will hold elections this year. These polls are seen as the fastest way for Mr Khairy to return to politics.
He told journalists in Malaysia earlier this month that he is considering contesting the Selangor state polls, with parties offering to back him as the state’s chief minister.
He is currently a DJ for Malaysia’s Hot FM radio station, and earlier on Wednesday Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim announced Mr Khairy’s appointment as the Johor youth adviser and a board member of state football club Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT).
Mr Khairy served as youth and sports minister between 2013 and 2018. He was also deputy president of the Football Association of Malaysia in 2007.
When asked about what he had to offer to the football fraternity, the former minister said on Wednesday that he feels “very strongly” about Malaysian football.
“I feel it’s an honour for TMJ (the crown prince) to invite me on to the board. He has great ambitions for JDT to be the best club in Asia,” he said.
“I like that kind of ambition. Whatever small experience that I have that can assist him in fulfilling his vision, I’m happy to do so.”
The former United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) youth chief was also sacked from the party last month, as part of a “mass cleansing” exercise that party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said would rid the party of “saboteurs”.
Mr Khairy had been a vocal opponent of a motion tabled during the recent party general assembly to block UMNO’s top two posts – party president and deputy president – from being challenged at the party’s internal elections which must be held by May.
The motion was later passed by the general assembly in a majority vote, paving the way for Ahmad Zahid and his deputy Mohamad Hasan to serve at least another term.
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