PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang dismissed today's news reports that the party's spiritual leader and Kelantan Menteri Besar Nik Aziz Nik Mat has resigned from all positions.

According to Bernama , Hadi said the news was fabricated and published with a purpose by the daily. However, the report did not specify which daily the opposition leader was referring to.

Apart from Utusan Malaysia , which front-paged the news, and the Star , malaysiakini also reported about the resignation yesterday.

"I met Tuan Guru (Nik Aziz) just before he left (for Mecca) to perform the umrah (mini pilgrimage)," Hadi was quoted as saying.

Health reasons

The reports alleged that Nik Aziz, 73, had decided to throw in the towel due to health reasons. The veteran politician had suffered a heart attack several months ago.

Meanwhile, Hadi also singled out a specific daily, saying that it had been instructed to come up with the resignation report.

In the malaysiakini report, sources said the party would make an announcement on the resignation after Nik Aziz returns from Mecca in two weeks.

However, party leaders contacted later refuted this, with one even suggesting that Umno Kelantan could be behind the resignation rumour