KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 2 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s invitation to the coronation of Sultan Muhammad V in 2016 was entirely withdrawn, Syahredzan Johan reminded Datuk Seri Najib Razak today.
The aide to DAP’s Lim Kit Siang was commenting on the former prime minister’s continued complaints over a seat change that he claimed forced him to miss Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah’s installation this week.
“At least you got a seat, unlike what happened to Tun in 2016,” Syahredzan wrote on Twitter.
During the installation of the 15th Yang diPertuan Agong, Dr Mahathir’s invitation to attend as a former prime minister was rescinded ahead of the event.
The reason given then was that the palace wanted to avoid “any embarrassment” as no seat had been allocated to Dr Mahathir despite his stature as a former PM.
After his absence was noticed during the coronation on Tuesday, Najib claimed he was told early on the day that he would not be seated near the front as a former prime minister but with the rest of the Pahang nobility.
He asserted that this required a different set of ceremonial dress that he did not have at hand and could not get from his family home in Pekan, Pahang, in time to attend.
Najib’s former special officer Isham Jalil then alleged Dr Mahathir had forced the change by threatening to boycott the event if Najib was seated near him.
Dr Mahathir has denied this and said the matter was decided by the palace’s protocol division.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mujahid Yusof Rawa also rejected Najib’s claim he was informed at the last minute, saying the change was communicated to the latter well in advance.
