Malaysia's United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the country's long-dominant Malay nationalist party, has approved the return of 82-year-old former cabinet minister Syed Hamid Albar alongside ex-ministers Khairy Jamaluddin and Hishammuddin Hussein, in a surprise move announced after the party's Supreme Council meeting on Friday. The trio rejoined more than 6,000 former leaders and members under the party's Rumah Bangsa (House of the Race) initiative, a reconciliation programme launched earlier this year to reunite Malay and Muslim political figures. With general elections due by 2028 but possibly as early as mid-2025, analysts say the high-profile returns are intended to shore up UMNO's electoral standing, particularly among urban and younger Malay voters.