KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 1 — Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan announced the suspension of all party meetings with immediate effect after Malaysia saw new Covid-19 infections jump to 260 cases today, the highest since June.

Ahmad said party president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi gave the instruction that all meetings be postponed indefinitely, to prevent the virus from spreading further.

“We cannot take the risk and we do not want Umno to be blamed.

“This postponement will be in effect until a date that will be announced later.

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“These instructions must be complied with,” Ahmad said in a statement today.

The postponement will affect all representative meetings within the party’s Women and Youth wings, along with Puteri Umno and division meetings.

Ahmad said Zahid’s directive was also echoed by Defence Minister and party vice-president Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob who is also senior minister in charge of security.

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The Health Ministry announced this evening a spike in new Covid-19 cases, the bulk of which are from local transmissions.

Today’s figure of 260 cases is the second highest daily increase ever recorded, the highest being 277 daily cases that were recorded on June 4.