First-class flight was from Riyadh to Medina, says Zulkifli

 

Religious affairs minister Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri said he had flown to Saudi Arabia on a normal commercial flight.

PUTRAJAYA: Religious affairs minister Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri did not fly first class to Saudi Arabia last week, his office has clarified.

Responding to a viral video clip showing him in a first-class cabin, Zulkifli’s office said the clip had been taken on his flight from Riyadh to Medina, on a flight fully sponsored by the Muslim World League (a non-governmental organisation funded by the Saudi government).

“That (the claim) is not true. The minister flew to Saudi Arabia on a commercial flight like other people,” it said.

Zulkifli had flown to Riyadh from Kuala Lumpur on a normal commercial flight.

“The governor of Medina, Prince Faisal Salman Abdulaziz, invited (Zulkifli) when he found out that the minister was a graduate of the Islamic University of Medina. The sponsored flight is a mark of the good relationship between both countries,” the statement added.

Zulkifli is now in Saudi Arabia at the invitation of the MWL for a working visit from last Friday to April 18. He arrived in Riyadh on April 10 before leaving for Medina yesterday. - FMT