UMNO general assembly 2014 begins

The Umno General Assembly 2014, a political event which draws the attention of many quarters year after year, began with the tradition of raising the Sang Saka Bangsa flag.

Umno President Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, arrived at the Putra World Trade Centre's (PWTC) Plaza Merdeka, here, at 9am.

Najib, who looked dapper in an orange baju Melayu, was greeted by his deputy, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and other Umno leaders.

Najib then took the salute and inspected the parade, mounted by 150 members of the three Umno wings, Wanita, Youth and Puteri headed by Syahreman Hussain.

He was accompanied by Wanita Chief Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, Youth Chief Khairy Jamaluddin and Puteri Chief Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin during the inspection.

Clear and sunny skies and the presence of the public energised the flag raising ceremony which was then followed by the singing of the Umno song 'Bersatu Bersetia Berkhidmat'.

A total of 2,752 Umno delegates from around the country attended the party's three-day general assembly.

In addition, 1,452 media personnel from 106 local and international media agencies, new media including bloggers and online news portals have been working from the media centre in PWTC since Saturday to provide coverage on the event.