Agong tells press to be patient; sponsors lunch for all of them!
KUALA LUMPUR: Breaking royal protocols, Yang di-Pertuan Agong today stepped out from the Istana Negara and met the media outside the palace gates to allay public fears.
Dressed in formal attire with a neck-tie, Sultan Abdullah urged the media personnel to be patients in this current political mess.
“I know you’re all concerned. Please be patient for now.
“We will hold a press conference and I hope we can find a best solution to this,” said His Majesty.
The Ruler is currently in the midst of interviewing all MPs in order to decide who commands the majority support in the Dewan Rakyat.
For today, His Majesty will have daunting task of interviewing 90 MPs, starting today at 2.30pm. The rest will be summoned tomorrow.
There are 222 members of the Dewan Rakyat.
Speaking to the press earlier, the Comptroller of the Royal Family and Household Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said that all MPs will have about two to three minutes to present their case to the Ruler.
Chief Secretary to the Government Datuk Seri Mohd Zuki Ali would be witness to the interview processes.
It was also reported earlier that Chief Justice Datuk Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat and Attorney General Tan Sri Tommy Thomas was also spotted entering the Istana Negara this morning.
On a lighter note, Sultan Abdullah, concerned that the press members were tired and hungry, ordered fast food for them to ravish for lunch.
“Yesterday, Sultan Abdullah got us food from Kentucky Fried Chicken. Today, we are getting lunch from McDonalds,” said a journalist.
Low-cost carrier, AirAsia had also chipped in by sponsoring Nasi Lemak Pak Nasser from its Santan restaurant to those gathered outside Istana Negara.
By Hemalatha Subramaniam and G Vinod
