KOTA BARU: Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi will not attend a Pas unity gathering in Kelantan on Friday because Umno has a programme in Melaka on the same day.
Pas secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan said the event, expected to draw more than 100,000 people, would also mark 36 years of Pas administration in Kelantan.
"Kelantan Umno liaison deputy chairman Tan Sri Mohamad Fatmi Che Salleh informed us last Friday that Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi could not attend because Umno had a major programme in Melaka on the same day," he said.
He said the organisers had initially planned a joint event with Umno, with Zahid scheduled to speak alongside Pas president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang at a stadium.
He was speaking at the Kubang Kerian parliamentary constituency leg of the Unity Gathering and Prayer Tour.
Takiyuddin said Kelantan Umno had also proposed holding a similar event on a larger scale after the Melaka state election.
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