The Himpunan Barisan 1Malaysia gathering of NGOs scheduled for Saturday has nothing to do with Umno or the coming Umno annual general assembly, its secretariat head Ahmad Maslan said today.

Ahmad, who is a deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department, said the timing was only coincidental and the gathering of NGOs "is bigger" than that.

"You can't say that it is being held in conjunction with the Umno AGM, as the gathering is this Saturday and the Umno AGM is next Tuesday.

NONE “But we have thought of having this gathering for a while now, and the only time we have to hold it is this Saturday,” Ahmad ( left ) said, adding that Saturday fits with the PM’s schedule.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak will be speaking at the closing ceremony.

Ahmad said the gathering “will not display Umno or BN logos” and will be to engage with NGOs so “they can hear explanations (on policies) and give their feedback”.

It would also be a gathering to show support for the 1Malaysia framework and the prime minister’s policies.

Largest NGO gathering

According to Ahmad, out of the 2,348 NGOs invited, about 1,500 have said they would attend, making it “the largest NGO gathering” to be held in Malaysia.

“But we are not going for a Malaysian record. We’re raising funds for Gaza and all that, so there’s no need to make it a record-breaking event,” he said.

About 40 percent of the NGOs invited are youth NGOs, he said.

The state-funded event will cost “less than RM500,000” and is also supported by external sponsors.

“Most of the cost is actually to pay for lunch,” Ahmad added.