Don’t buy it: PAS on Hadi’s alleged Saudi ban

KUALA LUMPUR – Allegations that PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang has been banned from entering Saudi Arabia have been flying around since at least two years ago.

In 2021, DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang asked for clarification if it was indeed true that Malaysia’s special envoy to the Middle East had been banned from entering the kingdom.

While he did not name anyone, the special envoy at the time was Hadi.

Yesterday, the claim resurfaced following the spread of a statement purportedly issued by Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry saying the government had imposed a permanent entry ban on Hadi.

It listed three reasons for the ban, one of which was that “Hadi had encouraged Muslims in Malaysia to overthrow the current government in the name of jihad, resulting in the death of innocent lives”.

In an immediate reaction, PAS issued a statement on Facebook to deny there is such a ban.

It said the statement is false as it lists Hadi as the vice-president of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, a post he no longer holds.

PAS also drew attention to the statement’s use of the Gregorian calendar instead of the Islamic calendar.

The statement on Hadi was also not posted on Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry’s Twitter account.

A comparison of the ministry’s other official statements with the one on Hadi also unearthed several glaring differences, one of which is the date’s format.

The “fake” statement bears a seal of the ministry on the bottom right corner, something not found in their other statements.

The font used on the “fake” statement is also different compared to its other official statements. – The Vibes, August 1, 2023