'S'gor sultan's private-sec did not inform state’

The Selangor Menteri Besar office today said it was the Selangor sultan's private secretary’s responsibility to inform the government if his royal highness wished to attend the state's Merdeka celebration.

This, Selangor Menteri Besar political secretary Faekah Husin said, was because it was a norm that the ruler did not attend the state's Merdeka celebration as is with previous years.

"If this event involved the Sultan, how could the state secretary and government officials possibly overlook it.

"Furthermore, if the Selangor sultan wished to attend the event, it is the responsibility of his royal highness' private secretary Mohd Munir Bani to inform the state secretary.

"I am of the opinion that this confusion arose when Munir did not convey the necessary information to the state secretary," she said.

Faekah said that she had confirmed with Selangor state secretary Mohamad Khusrin Munawai, who is also chairperson of the celebration, that the sultan had never been invited before.

She adds that the norm was for the sultan to attend the official programme the following day on the night of August 31, which is the tahlil and benediction ceremony.

"Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim is disappointed that there are officials who have failed to perform their duty well, to the extent that it has caused a strained situation that threatens his good relationship with the Selangor sultan," she said.

She also noted that the state government had invited all Selangor state assemblyperson from BN to the state-level Merdeka parade at Dataran Kemerdekaan, Shah Alam on the night of August 30, but none showed up.

Noh Omar: Why Anwar the GOH?

Meanwhile, Selangor Barisan Nasional deputy chairperson Noh Omar said the Selangor government has failed to differentiate between an official event and a political programme by inviting Anwar Ibrahim as the guest of honour at the state-level independence day celebration last Thursday.     

According to Bernama, Noh said this clearly demonstrated Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim's attempt to harness the opposition culture in the state's administration.    

"Why Anwar, who is not a state leader, was accorded the guest of honour status at the ceremony.    

"Hence, we want the menteri besar to explain whether the ceremony was an official state government function or a political programme," Noh told a news conference in Shah Alam today.     
Noh, who is also Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister, said the ceremony should have been discussed at the state executive council meeting besides a special committee chaired by State Secretary Mohamad Khusrin Munawi.    

Noh also chided Abdul Khalid for shifting the blame to and asking Mohamad Khusrin, who is the state-level Merdeka Day Celebration Committee chairman, to clarify the matter.