Youth wing to appeal for Tun Faisal

PETALING JAYA: Umno Youth will submit an appeal to the party to allow one of its exco members to contest a supreme council post after his nomination was rejected by the party election committee, says Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin.

Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz, one of four Youth candidates for the party’s top decision-making body, is not allowed to contest because he does not meet the conditions set for aspirants.

All supreme council candidates in the Oct 19 polls must have served at least one term as either a divisional committee member or a supreme council member.

Umno executive secretary Datuk Rauf Yusuh said Tun Faisal’s application to contest was rejected because he had not served as either a divisional or supreme council committee member.

“An appeal can be made to the election committee, which is headed by Tan Sri Tajol Rosli Ghazali, who will look into the case,” said Rauf.

Tun Faisal, who heads Umno Youth’s new media unit, said he should have been allowed to contest despite not meeting the conditions because he is already an Umno Youth exco member.

“I sought the advice of the election committee on whether I could run well before I filed my papers, and they said ‘yes’. So the rejection does not make sense,” he added.

He said the rejection of his candidacy was not consistent with the spirit of the party’s constitutional amendment in 2009, which relaxes entry requirements for candidates in a bid to allow greater participation in the party polls.