UMNO polls will not be reverted to December - PM

BEIJING(24Oct): The Umno party polls will be held in March next year as scheduled and not reverted to December, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

“We already have the transition plan and it will be in March next year,” he told reporters on Thursday when asked if the Umno general assembly would be brought to December.

It is learnt that some Umno divisions are against the party’s Supreme Council decision to postpone the general assembly to March.

Abdullah, who earlier launched Khazanah Nasional’s Beijing representative office here, arrived on Wednesday to attend the two-day Seventh Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem).

Abdullah’s official programme includes the Asean Leaders’ Working Dinner and Asean Plus Three Leaders’ Breakfast Meeting on the Financial Crisis.

Abdullah will hold talks with Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, Cypriot President Demetris Christofias and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

Established in 1996, Asem is an informal process of dialogue and cooperation between its 45 members, comprising the 10 Asean member nations, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Mongolia, Pakistan, and European Union members.