Umno cancels 70th anniversary carnival gathering

Its secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said, two other events which are ongoing now are also cancelled, namely Umno Games and Umno Flag Run.

"Representing Umno headquarters and party leadership, as well as Umno members, I would like to express sorrow and grief over the AS350 helicopter incident involving 6 passengers, including Umno leaders," he said in a statement issued in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.

He said, although preparations had been made, the party headquarters felt this was not the right time to continue with the anniversary do.

However, he said, Umno’s anniversary celebration on May 11 at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) will still be carried out but moderately.

The celebration will include a tahlil ceremony in memory of the party's leaders and forefathers, as well as the Sarawak helicopter crash victims.

The helicopter, managed by Filipino pilot Captain Rudolf Rex Ragas, was carrying five passengers including Deputy Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Noriah Kasnon and Kuala Kangsar Member of Parliament Datuk Wan Mohammad Khair-il Anuar Wan Ahmad.

Others on board the chopper enroute from Betong to Kuching, were Noriah’s husband, Asmuni Abdullah, Plantation Industries and Commodities Secretary-general Datuk Dr. Sundaran Annamalai and Noriah’s bodyguard, Ahmad Sobri Harun.