It is still unclear as to whether Umno will be speaking at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (NCCPC) which kicked off yesterday.

Earlier this month, Umno's official website quoted Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor claiming that Malaysia was one of six countries invited to speak at the congress.

He also expressed appreciation for the close relationship between Umno and the Communist Party of China (CPC) and said the invitation was an acknowledgment of Umno's achievement.

However, checks on the NCIPC's itinerary did not reveal any information to support Tengku Adnan's claims.

Malaysiakini has been unsuccessful in repeated attempts to contact Tengku Adnan for details for several days.

When contacted, both Umno information chief Annuar Musa and BN strategic communications director Abdul Rahman Dahlan were unable to comment and advised Malaysiakini to speak to Tengku Adnan.

Political scientist and expert on China's political development Phoon Wing Keong expressed doubts that an Umno representative would be addressing the NCCPC...