MB: No evidence that Khir always invited sultan

There are no records to prove that the previous Selangor government had invited the sultan as the guest of honour for its Merdeka eve celebrations from 2003 onwards, said the Selangor Menteri Besar.

Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said in fact, the sultan was only invited once since 2003, and that was in 2007 as it was the golden jubilee celebrations, which was celebrated with a march-past on Aug 31.

"We have not found any letters (to show the sultan was invited). Maybe they have been burnt (by the previous administration), we are still searching," he said.

The state has been under fire for not inviting the Selangor sultan to its National Day celebration on Aug 30 this year.

Former state MB Mohd Khir Toyo had claimed that during his time, the sultan was, verbally and via formal correspondence, always invited for the state's National Day celebrations.

Addressing reporters after the executive council meeting, Abdul Khalid said state records show that the sultan was invited for the prayer and Quran recital in commemoration with National Day on Aug 31, every year.

He also denied claims that the state was heaping blame on state secretary Mohd Khusrin Munawi, instead thanking the latter for his efforts.

“He is not at fault at all. I accept his explanation, and Khusrin and his team have tried their best to organise the event for Selangor,” he said.

Asked if he will seek an apology from the sultan when the duo meet tomorrow, he said: “I always apologise (to him) after my prayers.”

“We have explained the matter. This thing should be handled openly and properly, and should not have escalated to this level.”
'Guest of honour was the MB himself'

He also clarified that the guest of honour for the event last week was not PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, as widely believed.

Anwar, he said, was actually the “guest speaker” and the “guest of honour” was the MB himself.

“In different years, there have been guest perfomers and this year we have a guest speaker.”

He said the Selangor MB was the guest of honour for the years 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2011.

No celebrations were held in 2009 and 2010 as National Day fell during the month of Ramadan.