UMNO ministers were only having breakfast together - Noh

TANJUNG KARANG: The presence of several UMNO ministers at a hotel in Putrajaya this morning was just to have breakfast together, says Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Tan Sri Noh Omar.

"It was a spontaneous breakfast plan when the Cabinet meeting was postponed to 10 am because Prime Minister (PM) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri had a Police Day programme (215th Police Day celebration)," he said when asked about the meeting of several UMNO ministers at the hotel.

Noh, who is also the Selangor UMNO Liaison Body chairman said he was surprised that an issue had been made out of the matter.

"On Fridays, we usually start at 9 am because we want to finish before 1 pm.

"But today, because the PM was attending the Police Day (programme), the meeting started at 10 am. So those of us who arrived early went to have breakfast near the hotel in front of the Prime Minister's Department building," he said, adding that no deputy ministers were present at the time.

Meanwhile, Minister of Communications and Multimedia Tan Sri Annuar Musa in a tweet also confirmed the matter.

"This morning, the Cabinet meeting began an hour later because the YAB PM (Ismail Sabri) had to attend a Police Day (programme). While waiting, we had breakfast at Pulse Grande Putrajaya, treated by YB Reezal Merican (Minister of Housing and Local Government Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican), "he said.

In KUALA LUMPUR, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin denied that there were discussions on the dissolution of Parliament in a meeting involving UMNO cabinet ministers and deputy ministers in Putrajaya this morning.

"We only had breakfast. Datuk Seri Reezal (Merican) gave us a treat because we hadn't seen each other for a long time. There was nothing (no discussion) on the dissolution of Parliament," he said in a press conference after a working visit to the national headquarters of the Red Crescent Society (PBSM).

-- BERNAMA