'My criticism on portfolio transfer, not on sultan'

The president of the Malay rights group Perkasa, Ibrahim Ali, said his criticism on the transfer of the Islamic religious affairs portfolio had nothing to do with the position of the Selangor sultan.

Furthermore, he said, Perkasa had all this while been consistent in defending the royal institution.

“They want to to ban me from entering Selangor. Wah, does (political secretary to the Selangor menteri besar) Faekah (Husin) think all this while Selangor belongs to her parents?” said Ibrahim, who is also Independent MP for Pasir Mas.

The menteri besar was reported this morning as saying he would discuss with the state legal adviser and related agencies over the action to be taken against Ibrahim who had strongly criticised the transfer of the Islamic religious affairs portfolio of the state.

Faekah had stated that Ibrahim’s statement was demeaning to the sultan, who had given his approval, and suggested that Ibrahim be banned from entering Selangor.

In his immediate reply this evening, Ibrahim said he is ready if the state government decides to take legal action against him over his earlier statement.

“If they wish to sue me, then sue me. I cannot do anything. Let the court decide whether I said ‘maybe’ this and that may happen is wrong or not. If found guilty, I’ll be jailed, no problem,” he said.

Clarifying his statement yesterday, Ibrahim said when asked by reporters his views on the matter, he stated: “If MB Khalid (Ibrahim) holds the Islamic affairs portfolio, maybe this and that may happen in matters related to Islam.”

“It was a challenge for him (Khalid),” he added.

Ibrahim was reported as saying yesterday that the transfer of the Selangor Islamic affairs portfolio to Khalid was aimed at enabling “immoral” activities and safeguarding the interests of a group of business people prior to the general election.

Ibrahim explained that the removal of former Selangor PAS commissioner Hasan Ali and the transfer of the portfolio was a “big blow” to PAS, and labelled it a “defeat for Islam and victory for sodomy”, a news portal had reported.