S'gor MB sees amicable solution to Mahathir issue

SHAH ALAM: Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said today the requests by certain quarters for him to stop inviting Pakatan Harapan chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to attend programmes in the state can be solved amicably.
Speaking to reporters in the lobby of the Selangor State Legislative Assembly, he said the matter could be solved in a civilised manner without the involvement of any media.
Mohamed Azmin was asked to comment on a motion tabled by Datuk Abdul Shukor Idrus (BN-Kuang) at the assembly calling for Dr Mahathir to be prohibited from any activity of the Selangor government and for him to be denied the use of state government premises.
The motion was dismissed by Speaker Hannah Yeoh who said the matter was not urgent.
Asked about a plan by BN state assemblymen to send a note to the Selangor palace on the matter tomorrow, Mohamed Azmin said anyone was free to do so in accordance with the democratic practice of the country.
Dr Mahathir, when addressing a gathering organised by opposition parties in Petaling Jaya on Oct 14, had made a mischievous remark about Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak and Bugis pirates.
Following the remark, the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, who is also of Bugis descent, expressed disappointment over the matter, saying it was seen as an attempt to intimidate Malaysians into hating, insulting and looking down upon the Bugis.
Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Kalla had wanted Dr Mahathir to apologise for linking the ancient seafaring Bugis to pirates.
Many quarters representing the Bugis community in Malaysia also demanded an open apology from Dr Mahathir.
The Selangor assembly will sit again tomorrow. — Bernama