PKR apologises to Sultan of Selangor, defends action

KUALA LUMPUR: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) yesterday defended its action on the issue of the Selangor Mentri Besar post nomination as it conforms to the state constitution and apologises to the Sultan of Selangor if it has hurt his feelings.
PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (pix) said the practice of submitting one name as the Mentri Besar candidate was practised since the country achieved independence in 1957.
"Our party will apologise to Duli Yang Maha Mulia Tuanku Sultan if our decision which conforms with the Selangor state constitution and convention since 1957 hurt his feelings," he said in a statement quoted from the party's Facebook account.
On Monday, Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah expressed his unhappiness with the action of PKR and DAP who disregarded his decree on Aug 27 to nominate two names from their parties to be considered as the new Selangor Mentri Besar.
The private secretary to the Selangor Sultan, Datuk Mohamad Munir Bani was reported to have said that the action of PKR and DAP reflected their rudeness to the institution of Rulers and was a treasonous act against the decree of the Sultan.
In the Facebook account, Anwar also said PKR repeated its stand to uphold the sovereignty of the Malay Rulers and constitutional monarchy as had been stressed in party president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail's letters to the Sultan.
In another development, DAP through its secretary-general Lim Guan Eng yesterday also apologised to Sultan Sharafuddin for making the same decision in submitting only one candidate. – Bernama