About 30 percent of the over 20,000 Umno branches in the country have completed their annual meetings, said Umno executive secretary Ab Rauf Yusoh.    

He said all the meetings had proceeded smoothly and the problems raised had been resolved amicably.

“The problems, including on the procedure of the meetings, have been settled by the respective state Umno liaison committees.

“Our advice was for the problems raised at the branch meetings to be resolved amicably, otherwise the party headquarters would have to step in,” he told a news conference in Masjid Tanah.

Earlier, Ab Rauf held an Aidilfitri open house at his house in Alor Gajah. It was attended by Melaka Yang Dipertua Negeri Mohd Khalil Yaakob and Chief Minister Idris Harun as well as more than 1,000 people from the locality.

Umno branches have until Sept 15 to hold their annual meetings under an extension of the period announced by party secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor yesterday.

Asked whether he would contest the post of Masjid Tanah Umno division chief as was the talk in the division, Ab Rauf said he was not ready to comment on the matter.

Kuala Linggi state assemblyperson Ismail Othman and former Malacca chief minister Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik have offered themselves for the post.

Ab Rauf also told reporters that the Umno branch and divisional meetings would be unaffected by Aidiladha on Sept 15.

“Those going on the haj have enough time to attend the branch and divisional meetings.

“Already, 30 percent of the branches have completed their meetings and the rest have plenty of time up to Sept 15 to hold theirs. The divisions also have until Oct 19 to hold their meetings,” he said.

Ab Rauf also said that any Umno member eligible to contest in the party elections but wanted to perform the haj could appoint a representative to handle the matter by writing to the Umno headquarters.

- Bernama