PAS ulama council secretary Nik Zawawi Nik Salleh said the party’s spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat “100 percent supports” Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim to retain his post.

Nik Zawawi said this in denying a report in The Malaysian Insider that Nik Aziz was supposedly not involved in the ulama syura council decision on Friday and had the latter saying he did not support the decision.

Nik Zawawi said he himself had read the council’s decision to Nik Aziz at a separate meeting accompanied by PAS vice president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, immediately after the syura council meeting.

“I read the decision approved by the syura council in front of him and he agreed to it 100 percent,” he said when contacted by Malaysiakini.

“Initially we (the council) did not want to announce the decision as distributed to the media, but he ordered it to be disseminated to the press,” he added.

Elaborating on the syura council meeting, Nik Zawawi said Nik Aziz was able to discuss the Selangor menteri besar issue.

However, he had to excuse himself from the meeting soon after because he felt “very tired”.

Nik Aziz, who is also the council’s chairperson, then left after ordering that the meeting continue, he said.

“Then he said when the decision is made, he wants to know. When the meeting was finished, I went with Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man to his house,” he said.

Report 'wild allegation'

He denied allegations that Nik Aziz, who is also the Chempaka assemblyperson, had disagreed with the ulama council decision.

“Any statement (that he) disagreed is a wild allegation and should not be made. This decision is that from the syura council,” he said.

“God willing, there will be a letter, which is the statement read out to him that he would sign after this. For now, it has yet to be signed,” he added.

The news reports to the contrary were based on a five-minute audio recording circulated through several pro-PAS blogs.

The recording, which Malaysiakini has examined, contained a conversation in Kelantanese dialect, and some of the audio was unclear.

Despite the council's stand, yesterday PAS central political bureau member Khalid Samad said this was not the final word from the party on Khalid.

PAS' central executive committee (CEC) meeting will still have to scrutinise PKR's dossier on Khalid's RM59.5 million Bank Islam settlement before coming to a decision, said the Shah Alam MP.


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