KUALA LUMPUR – Kedah ruler Sultan Sallehuddin Sultan Badlishah will be joining Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at the national-level Madani Aidilfitri open house in Alor Star tomorrow.
Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil said in a statement that the federal government was grateful for the sultan’s consent to attend the event.
He added that this will further enliven the occasion and gives Kedahans an opportunity to celebrate Raya with Sultan Sallehuddin.
The open house in Kedah will be held at Alor Star’s Raia Hotel from 10am to 2pm.
Anwar will also be heading to open houses in Kelantan (May 12) and Terengganu (May 13) as well as those organised by the state governments in Selangor (May 14), Penang (May 6), and Negri Sembilan (May 7).
Yesterday, Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said he would be attending the open house if Sultan Sallehuddin consents to attend.
“I am informed that they have sent an official invitation to the Sultan of Kedah. Hence, if Tuanku accepts the invitation, then I will be there as well. But if Tuanku is not attending, then I will reconsider (whether to attend). I am talking from the protocol point of view,” he was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.
Earlier, Perikatan Nasional (PN) deputy secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan and PAS’ Sanusi criticised the open house events for being wasteful and politically motivated.
However, fellow PAS members Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yaakob and Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar welcomed the events.
Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, meanwhile, defended the event, saying they cost less compared to those conducted by previous administrations.
Meanwhile, Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung criticised the attitude of PN leaders who he alleged have politicised all issues, even the open houses.
He added that it only reflected that there are factions “so thirsty for power that they are afraid of their own shadows”.
The PKR communications director reminded that the unity government’s open house is an official event to celebrate Aidilfitri with the rakyat, to which state government leaders and people of any race are invited. – The Vibes, April 28, 2023
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