MB not among 22 in haj list

Friday October 31, 2008

THE Perak Government is grateful to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for allowing the 22 people under the Mentri Besar’s office to perform the haj.

Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, who is also Perak PAS deputy commissioner, however clarified that he was not among the list of 22 people submitted for priority approval by his office.

“I’m not going, that needs to be corrected. Also, not all of the 22 are PAS members.

“Some are PKR members, some are apolitical and some are retired teachers,” he told reporters after opening the European Union-Asia solid waste management conference on Wednesday.

Zahid reportedly said that certain quarters had complained that only selected groups were allowed to perform the haj. He said he gave approval for the sake of religion, although the 22 people were from different political parties.

Nizar said he hoped to work with Zahid, who is also Perak Federal Action Council chairman, especially since the Federal Government had allocated over RM1bil to Perak for development projects.