KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 24 ― The entire Umno general assembly next month will be a closed-door session and as such will be strictly off-limits to the media, Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor confirmed today.
Tengku Adnan added that the decision will apply even to mainstream media organisations like Umno-linked Malay broadsheet Utusan Malaysia and the English-language New Straits Times.
“The assembly will be closed-door session. No press. Because in the past press have been spinning news so we want to avoid that,” he told Malay Mail Online when contacted.
“If the press wants to know what is happening during the assembly, Umno can issue a statement/update at the end of the day,” he added.
Mainstream media outlets have traditionally been allowed to cover the proceedings of the Umno general assembly, including the debates on motions presented by the party's various wings.
Tengku Adnan’s response follows yesterday’s claim by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad that the general assembly will be off limits to the public, and that not all speeches from delegates will be telecast.
“The assembly will be closed to the public. Not all of the speeches of the delegates will be telecast. Only the president's speech will be telecast.
“As deputy president, (Tan Sri) Muhyiddin Yassin will officiate the wing's assemblies. Warnings have been issues so that Umno members do not talk about this,” the former prime minister and Umno president wrote in his blog.
Incumbent Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak is said to be facing an uprising among party grassroots.
Several Sepang Umno branches have reportedly called on their president to resign and take responsibility for the controversies surrounding state-owned 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and a RM2.6 billion donation from a Saudi Arabian donor cashed directly into Najib’s private bank account.
The Tampin Umno Youth division had in August reportedly approved an emergency motion seeking Najib's resignation as prime minister and Umno president, claiming that the two issues have affected the party's credibility.
But Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein recently said that no Umno division has submitted any motion to remove Najib as party president.
Last month, Umno executive secretary Datuk Abd Rauf Yusoh was quoted saying that the party is mulling a proposal to use the biometric system to ensure better control over the media covering the general assembly.
Back then, Abd Rauf has said that this was to ensure that only those who are approved by the Umno secretariat are allowed to cover the assembly at Dewan Merdeka and to be at the media operations centre during the assembly.
