Penanti assemblyman apologises to state secretary

GEORGE TOWN: Penanti assemblyman Dr Norlela Ariffin (pix) has apologised to State Secretary Datuk Seri Farizan Darus for not attending the swearing-in ceremony of the Penang Yang di-Pertua.
Farizan said he has received the letter of apology from the first-term assemblyman for her absence from the ceremony in May this year.
"On the spirit of Shawwal and Aidilfitri, I accept her apology willingly and sincerely," he said in a press conference today with Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.
The issue came to light after Norlela expressed concerns her allocations will be frozen in a Facebook post last month.
In her post, the PKR elected representative reportedly said she was ordered to remain at the PKR Convention held on April 29, the same day as the swearing in ceremony.
The state, however, dismissed the allegation allocations to assemblymen who missed the ceremony will be frozen but an additional layer of vetting will be imposed.
Lim said Norlela had to apologise as she claimed the invitation was not sent to her to attend the ceremony.
He said the state government felt this was a serious accusation against the state secretary.
He pointed out there were also DAP and other PKR assemblymen who did not attend and they have since given their reasons.
He, however, declined to say who they were as the matter was not raised by them publicly on social media.
"The allocations will be disbursed to the assemblymen as normal," he said adding government lawmakers should support and attend all official state government functions.