IPOH – Perak’s Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah has granted an audience to PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang at Istana Kinta, at 11am tomorrow.
The meeting is expected to be about the Islamist party’s political stance on the state’s recent menteri besar crisis.
Hadi is also expected to apologise to the sultan.
“His Royal Highness the sultan of Perak has consented to receive the PAS president for an audience at 11am on Tuesday, December 15, 2020, at Istana Kinta in Ipoh,” said a source in a WhatsApp message to The Vibes.
PAS found itself on the receiving end of public backlash after it withdrew an audience with Sultan Nazrin amid the state’s political turmoil.
The party’s central leadership had instructed its three Perak assemblymen to request the withdrawal.
The trio were originally slated to meet the ruler at 3pm on December 8, and had been expected to declare their support for Umno’s menteri besar candidate Datuk Saarani Mohamad.
Social media users had lambasted PAS as “rude” and “insulting and offensive to the royal institution”.
On December 9, party secretary-general Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan backtracked and instructed state PAS commissioner and Gunung Semanggol assemblyman Razman Zakaria to seek an audience with the sultan.
The audience was granted, but no PAS rep was made an exco the following day, which saw four Umno and one Bersatu assemblymen being sworn in to the posts. Saarani, too, took his oath of office as menteri besar.
Hadi then issued an apology and asked to have an audience with the ruler.
The Perak constitution requires one menteri besar and at least four excos to form the state administration, with a maximum of 10 excos allowed.
The Vibes previously reported that Hadi wants to seek Sultan Nazrin’s forgiveness after his party did not get any exco posts.
Razman and the other two reps held a press conference last Friday, where they pleaded for the ruler’s forgiveness.
Under state law, the menteri besar has the right to propose candidates for exco posts, with the final decision being the sultan’s.
It is up to the ruler to grant consent before the swearing-in ceremony takes place. – The Vibes pic, December 14, 2020
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