Pasir Mas MP Ibrahim Ali announced at a press conference in Parliament lobby today that he has instructed his lawyers to take legal action against free daily, the Sun .

NONE He said the daily had published a report that his Malay rights group Perkasa had proceeded to issue invitation cards for its first annual meeting which mentioned that the Selangor sultan will be opening the event without the official agreement from the palace.

"I would like to inform that initially, the Selangor Sultan consented to officiating the AGM but this was later withdrawn for certain reasons," he said.

He said Perkasa's inaugural AGM will be held on March 27 at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur, involving more than 10,000 delegates and guest from all over the country.

Ibrahim, who was flanked by a number of Perkasa top guns, also took issue with the newspaper for another report stating that the sultan had advised the Independent MP not to be an ultra-Malay.

According to Ibrahim, he is taking legal action against the Sun to defend his image and credibility. He also said that he plans to take the matter to Perkasa to see if the organisation would join him as plaintiffs in the suit.

Ibrahim meets sultan

The Sun quoted sources that Sultan of Selangor Tuanku Sharafuddin Idris Shah was non-committal on whether he would grace the Perkasa launch after a 40-minute meeting with Ibrahim at Istana Mastika on Tuesday.

The front-page report, ‘Sultan keeps Perkasa guessing on invitation’, which appeared yesterday, also said the sultan was concerned over the organisation's image as a "chauvinist" group.

the sun 170310 “A source said despite pleas by Ibrahim, the sultan said he will not be rushed into making a decision,” said the report.

According to the Sun , the Selangor sultan was displeased that invitations to the launch stated that he will be officiating when the palace had yet to respond officially.

It quoted a source as saying: "While he (the sultan) is the protector of Malays and Islam, Tuanku is also aware that he is the ruler of all Selangorians and is very particular that his words and actions must be that of an all-encompassing ruler."

Sultan changes his mind

Meanwhile, Bernama reported that Sultan Sharafuddin has changed his mind about opening the Perkasa's inaugural annual meeting.

sultan of selangor sharafuddin idris shah The sultan's private secretary, Mohamad Munir Bani, said today the sultan felt that his presence would be misinterpreted to mean that the ruler supported Ibrahim.

He said that a letter dated March 12 on the sultan's decision and reason had been sent to the Perkasa office.

Mohamad Munir also said that it must not be misconstrued that Ibrahim had used the sultan's name in sending out the invitations because the ruler had agreed to open the meeting earlier, after several Perkasa committee members led by Ibrahim had an audience with him on Feb 25.

Munir said the sultan hoped that the Perkasa meeting would proceed smoothly and the organisation would grow into an entity of integrity and carry on its agenda to safeguard the sovereignty of the institution of rulers, Malay and bumiputera rights and the sanctity of Islam as the country's official religion.