No green light for Perkasa from Sultan to gather outside palace

(NST) – The Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has never consented for Malay-rights group Perkasa to gather outside of Istana Kayangan in Shah Alam on Monday.

The Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) in a statement denied the statement by Perkasa that the Sultan had permitted them to organise the gathering.

Mais chairman Datuk Mohamad Adzib Mohd Isa said that the council received a letter by Selangor Perkasa president Abu Bakar Yahya on June 20 to be handed to the Sultan of Selangor.

“The letter was to inform the Sultan of Selangor and also ask for his consent for the proposed gathering in front of the palace on Monday.

“However the letter was never handed to the Sultan for his attention as he had left the country for a trip overseas the same day and was not able to receive the letter on time.

“Mais had stated before that non-governmental organisations might, in their will and good judgement decide on whether they should continue with their plan or not.

“With this, Mais would like to reiterate that the Sultan of Selangor has never granted any NGO permission to gather in front of the palace,” he said.

On Friday, Perkasa Selangor claimed that its planned gathering had received the nod by the Sultan of Selangor and urged Muslims and supporters of the state’s religious authorities stand on the bible issue to come forward and gather in front of the palace.

Abu Bakar had said that Perkasa Selangor expected 3,000 to 5,000 people to come and show their solidarity with the group.

The Sultan of Selangor earlier this week had issued a decree saying that the bible issue should be solved in accordance to the tenets of the law.