Umno meeting today in breach of Phase One SOPs?

A meeting of Umno leaders at the party’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur today breached the SOPs under the National Recovery Plan as the capital city is still in the first phase.

According to the National Security Council (NSC) website, face-to-face meetings are prohibited with only video conferences allowed for states under Phase One of the recovery plan.

Dang Wangi police chief Mohamad Zainal Abdullah said he was not informed of any meeting involving Umno leaders today.

“We were not informed,” he told MalaysiaNow. “You will have to ask the NSC (if permission was given).”

Former prime minister Najib Razak had been among the Umno MPs who met at the party headquarters ahead of a deadline given by president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi which expires today.

It is understood that apart from Najib and Zahid, who have been at the forefront of efforts to have Umno enter into an alliance with PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim, others seen attending the meeting today included Bera MP Ismail Sabri Yaakob, as well as a handful of Cabinet members from Umno.

On June 21, Zahid urged the government to reconvene Parliament proceedings within 14 days, saying failure to do so would amount to treachery and a lack of respect for the Malay rulers following their recent statements on the matter.

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had said on June 14 that Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh would need a police permit in order to hold a press conference at his home, as under the SOPs of the full lockdown enforced on June 1, no gatherings can be held even with a limit on the number of attendees.