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©New Straits Times (Used by permission)
Reports by V. Vasudevan, B. Suresh Ram, Eileen Ng, R.S. Kamini, Ili Liyana Mokhtar and Joseph Sipalan

DAP chairman Karpal Singh has urged the Royal Court of Selangor "not to be hasty" in making remarks about his comments about the Sultan of Selangor.

He denied making baseless allegations against the Ruler and the Elders of the Royal Court Council.

The MP for Bukit Gelugor said the council should have been more sober with its language in the matter.

He was commenting on reports quoting the council as chiding him for making baseless, unfounded and irresponsible statements which implied that the Sultan was interfering in the affairs of the state.

Karpal said he had only indicated that pressure was mounting in Selangor based on Perlis and Terengganu's royal intervention during the selection of the menteri besar.

He referred the Royal Court to a New Straits Times report on Feb 7, 1993, which quoted then Menteri Besar of Selangor, Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib, as saying that the state government would make changes to its constitution to ensure that, among other things, that Rulers did not interfere with affairs of the state.

He said the report had also stated that this was especially in relation to the transfer of civil servants and official functions.

Karpal said the former menteri besar had been alluding to the necessity of amending the Selangor state constitution after amendments were made to the Federal Constitution that took away the immunity of the Rulers in relation to legal liability.

"The Royal Court should have perhaps looked into what was said by Muhammad in the NST report," Karpal said at the Parliament lobby yesterday.

He said he would not dignify comments made by Speaker of the Selangor State Assembly and DAP central executive committee member Teng Chang Khim that Karpal lacked political wisdom in issues involving the royalty.

Teng had been reported by a local daily as saying that he disagreed with Karpal's approach with regard to the Sultan of Perak over the Ruler's jurisdiction in Islamic matters.

Karpal said he would stand by his earlier statement.

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