Selangor Umno pleads with Ruler to ignore Zaid
(The Star) – Selangor Umno is pleading with Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah to ignore any attempt by PKR’s Datuk Zaid Ibrahim to seek an audience with him.
Its deputy liaison chief Datuk Noh Omar said Zaid was “rude” when he questioned the Sultan’s directive of not allowing mosques in Selangor to be used for political purposes.
“We are very upset with his rudeness towards Tuanku. As people of Selangor and humble subjects of the Sultan, we plead with Tuanku to ignore this person,” he told reporters here yesterday.
Noh said the former Cabinet minister had also insulted Sultan Sharafuddin when he described the order as the Sultan’s personal opinion.
“The Sultan said mosques in the state should not be used for political purposes and that was a decree. To say that it was just Tuanku’s personal opinion is an insult to the Sultan and the institution,” he added.
Various parties had condemned Zaid following his latest blog posting in which he said the Sultan’s order was a personal opinion and could not be considered a decree as it was never gazetted.
Zaid had written: “The personal view expressed by the Sultan should be considered only as a good advice aimed at everyone and not targeted at any group or individual.”
On Saturday, Zaid said he would write to the palace to seek an audience with Sultan Sharafuddin to clarify his posting.
Noh also questioned the stand of the Selangor Pakatan Rakyat government towards Zaid’s statement. “They have so far been silent about it and does that mean they agree with his statement?” he asked.
Selangor Islamic Religious Council chairman Datuk Mohamad Adzib Mohd Isa had said that the directive by Sultan Sharafuddin was a decree.
He referred to Section 12 of the Selangor State Syariah Crime Enactment which stated that an order by the Sultan was a decree and was effective and could be implemented without first being gazetted.
