Sultan spoke, I listened, says Selangor PAS chief on royal audience
Selangor PAS chief Ahmad Yunus Hairi said there was no discussion between him and Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.(Selangor Royal Office Facebook pic)
PETALING JAYA: Selangor PAS chief Ahmad Yunus Hairi says there was no discussion between him and Selangor’s Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah when he was summoned to Istana Bukit Kayangan on Tuesday.
“I would like to state that I only listened to what the sultan had said in yesterday’s meeting and that there was no discussion between His Highness and I.
“Therefore, I deny the News Straits Times report from yesterday,” said Yunus in a statement.
According to yesterday’s NST report, Selangor PAS denied having any problems with Sultan Sharafuddin over the Bon Odori festival scheduled to take place on July 16.
“We told the sultan our position and most importantly, we told him that we are, all the way, supportive of the palace’s role in uniting the rakyat.
“We have no problems with each other,” NST quoted Selangor PAS secretary Roslan Shahir Mohd Shahir as saying.
Yesterday, the Selangor royal office said Yunus was summoned to Istana Bukit Kayangan for an audience that went on for about an hour.
While the royal office did not elaborate on the details of yesterday’s meeting, the audience came after Yunus urged the Selangor state government to prohibit Muslims from participating in the Bon Odori Festival on June 10.
This was despite Sultan Sharafuddin instructing the Selangor Islamic religious department (Jais) last week to allow the Bon Odori festival scheduled for next month to proceed.
The Selangor sultan had also said he himself had attended the festival several years ago and did not find it detrimental to the practice of the Islamic faith.
The brouhaha over Bon Odori was sparked after religious affairs minister Idris Ahmad reminded Muslims not to take part in the annual summer festival, claiming that the celebration was “influenced by elements of other religions”.
PETALING JAYA: Selangor PAS chief Ahmad Yunus Hairi says there was no discussion between him and Selangor’s Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah when he was summoned to Istana Bukit Kayangan on Tuesday.
“I would like to state that I only listened to what the sultan had said in yesterday’s meeting and that there was no discussion between His Highness and I.
“Therefore, I deny the News Straits Times report from yesterday,” said Yunus in a statement.
According to yesterday’s NST report, Selangor PAS denied having any problems with Sultan Sharafuddin over the Bon Odori festival scheduled to take place on July 16.
“We told the sultan our position and most importantly, we told him that we are, all the way, supportive of the palace’s role in uniting the rakyat.
“We have no problems with each other,” NST quoted Selangor PAS secretary Roslan Shahir Mohd Shahir as saying.
Yesterday, the Selangor royal office said Yunus was summoned to Istana Bukit Kayangan for an audience that went on for about an hour.
While the royal office did not elaborate on the details of yesterday’s meeting, the audience came after Yunus urged the Selangor state government to prohibit Muslims from participating in the Bon Odori Festival on June 10.
This was despite Sultan Sharafuddin instructing the Selangor Islamic religious department (Jais) last week to allow the Bon Odori festival scheduled for next month to proceed.
The Selangor sultan had also said he himself had attended the festival several years ago and did not find it detrimental to the practice of the Islamic faith.
The brouhaha over Bon Odori was sparked after religious affairs minister Idris Ahmad reminded Muslims not to take part in the annual summer festival, claiming that the celebration was “influenced by elements of other religions”.
Frankly, I am amazed at the intransigence of PAS towards the Selangor Sultan.
ReplyDeleteI dare bet that the Religious Affairs Minister Idris, at this point, would not bother to attend the festival given that PAS is urging muslims not to attend.
That would really be tantamount to disobeying a royal decree since the Sultan already told him to attend the Don Bori festival.
What can the Sultan do to ensure obedience and compliance? Or else he (the Sultan) would lose much face and be made a laughing stock.