Co-organiser denies involvement in pledge of support for Kedah MB

 

The co-organiser of a recent Hari Raya event held at Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor's residence has denied being involved in the pledge of support made by a group of students for the PAS lawmaker.

According to Mohamad Luqman Nurhakim Shamsudin, the chairperson of the Kedah chapter of Gabungan Mahasiswa Islam Se-Malaysia (Gamis), the pledge of support happened spontaneously and was not pre-planned.

"The event was attended by over 1,000 university students on April 23, and the food and venue were provided by Kedah menteri besar's office.

"It is an event held annually to celebrate students who return home to Kedah to celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri," Luqman said in a statement today.

Elaborating, Luqman said that the programme also incorporated a friendly dialogue-cum- question and answer session between Sanusi and the participants, which also included students in Form 5 and Form 6 in the Malaysian matriculation programme.

Spontaneous pledge

"At the end of the session, some students came up to the stage and voluntarily recited their support to the MB via an oath-taking ceremony, and got others to follow suit.

"The matter (pledge) was not included in the programme itinerary and is beyond our knowledge. Neither the organisers nor the MB's office were informed about the spontaneous pledge of support by the students," he said.

"We strictly deny accusations that the programme had political campaign elements and that the pledge of support was pre-planned to show support for the MB, forcibly," Luqman added.

The event was organised by the Kedah state government, with the support of Gamis and Persatuan Mahasiswa Darulaman (Persada).

Earlier this week, Sanusi (above) denied being involved in the pledge of support as well, saying he never knew that there was going to be an oath-taking ceremony.

It was reported that during the question and answer session, a student had asked Sanusi how they could support the latter to remain as menteri besar after the upcoming state election, to which the PAS lawmaker urged the participants to "let my party win".

At the same event, Sanusi also criticised Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's Hari Raya open house celebrations in six states expected to hold elections this year, saying it was a form of campaigning ahead of state polls.

The states are Kedah, Penang, Negeri Sembilan, Kelantan, Terengganu, and Selangor. - Mkini