KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23 — Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan today told his party grassroots leaders to “standby” for a special presidential briefing this Saturday afternoon.

He said the briefing will be held at 2pm three days from now at the Dewan Merdeka in the Putra World Trade Centre here.

“Standby, an official invitation will be made.

“Wear Umno red,” he said in a tweet this afternoon.

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He added that the invitation will be issued to “all Umno division committee members and other leaders who wish to attend”.

He did not provide further detail about the briefing beyond saying it will be on “current issues”.

Earlier today, Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi issued a separate statement asserting that the Malay nationalist party will continue to back former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak who was sent to jail yesterday after exhausting all court avenues to overturn his SRC International Sdn Bhd conviction and sentence.

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Umno has 191 divisions nationwide.

Malaysia’s largest political party appears to have split into two main camps, with those rallying behind Zahid pressuring the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob — a vice-president in Umno — to call for the general election this year.