Noh Omar barred from using hall bearing his name after Umno purge

Two days after Noh Omar was sacked from Umno, the former Tanjong Karang MP had planned to hold a meet-and-greet lunch with his supporters where he was expected to address the recent situation with them.

However, when his supporters and the media arrived this afternoon at the Dewan Tan Sri Noh Omar - a hall bearing his name situated at the Tanjong Karang Farmer's Management Institute, they were greeted with a postponement notice at the gate.

The event was supposed to be held at 3pm today with at least a couple of hundred expected to turn up.

The notice said the programme had to be postponed "due to unavoidable reasons".

Malaysiakini later learned that it had to be postponed at the last minute after the institute's management body cancelled the hall booking last night.

‘Order came from higher authority’

Tanjong Karang Umno division secretary Jasman Anuar, who was responsible for organising the meeting, claimed that the institute was ordered by a higher authority to bar Noh from using its facility.

"We cannot use the hall. (There was an) instruction to bar (Noh)," he told Malaysiakini.

According to the Umno leader, they also had to cancel the food order for some 300 participants with the caterer.

However, Jasman said he does not blame the institute for cancelling the booking and understood that they had no choice.

"From what I learned, the instruction came from the Farmers Organisation Authority. Maybe the agency also received instruction from someone else.

"To me, this feels like an abuse of power," Jasman lamented.

Noh Omar

He said they were expecting a large turnout as many of Noh's supporters had agreed to attend the event, especially after what had befallen the former Tanjong Karang Umno division chief recently.

The institute is under the purview of the Farmers Organisation Authority, better known by its Malay acronym LPP, which is an agency under the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry.

The institute's Azli Hudin Zakaria confirmed with Malaysiakini that they had to cancel the event and asked Noh to find a new venue.

He also confirmed the order came last night from the LPP.

"Yes, correct (we had to cancel the programme). We received an order from the headquarters.

"I can't comment on why the instruction was issued," he said.

Azli also pointed to a standing order by the government which bars political programmes from being held at government facilities, but admitted that Noh had frequently used the hall previously to host events.

‘Just following circular’

LPP director-general Azulita Salim when contacted also declined to comment when asked if the agency had received an order from a higher authority to bar Noh from holding his programme.

Instead, she also pointed to a government circular against allowing political events at government-owned facilities.

"There is a circular issued by the federal government against government facilities being used for political gatherings.

"So, we just follow the circular," she said.

Malaysiakini has reached out to the office of Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu for comments.

Noh loyal to Tanjong Karang

Despite the setback, Noh appeared to be unperturbed and continued to make his rounds in Tanjong Karang.

In a social media posting tonight, the former minister shared photos of himself meeting the people in the parliamentary constituency.

"Whatever happens, I will still go back to Tanjong Karang. This is my hometown.

"I always attend kenduri (feasts) and funerals. I met with my friends and the people of Tanjong Karang. This is what I have been doing all these years.

"Thank you for inviting me," he posted on Facebook.

On Friday, Umno’s top leadership gave Noh the boot over an alleged disciplinary issue.

The Umno supreme council initially handed the former Selangor Umno liaison committee chairperson a six-year suspension but Noh had instead asked party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to sack him.

According to an Umno insider, the party had taken action against Noh for allegedly sabotaging the party's candidate for the Tanjong Karang parliamentary seat during the recent general election. - Mkini