PETALING JAYA: PAS member Hezry Yasin has apologised for his actions during a Friday prayer at a mosque in Johor.
On Saturday, Hezry stated on his Facebook page that he decided to lower his hands when the congregation offered prayers for His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, and his Royal family members.
Although the post has since been deleted, a screencap of it continues to be circulated on social media.
In response to the criticisms, Hezry said he was left “speechless” as he did not expect such a reaction from the public.
“I apologise for my shortcomings. What I wrote was merely my personal opinion. I honestly had no intention of insulting the royal institution.
“I apologise to everyone. I don’t deny that praying for a fellow Muslim is a good act.
“God willing, I am always ready to provide cooperation if needed,” he wrote on his Facebook yesterday.
In the now-deleted controversial post, Hezry shared with his Facebook followers that he was celebrating Hari Raya in Johor and performed the Friday prayers there.
He then went on to say that although he put up his hands in prayer for the well-being of Muslims in the beginning, he then decided to put his hands down when the prayer mentioned the King and his family.
Merely hours after uploading his controversial posting, Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh called on Umno youth leaders in Johor to lodge police reports against Hezry for the alleged slander against the King.
Describing Hezry’s posting as “extremely outrageous”, he said such a remark will only cause division among Muslims.
“I have asked the Johor Umno Youth leadership to lodge police reports on the extreme accusations that have been thrown by this individual,” Dr Muhamad Akmal wrote on Facebook.
Johor PAS Youth chief Ahmad Nawfal Mahfodz said the party’s state chapter was disappointed with Hezry’s posting, saying that PAS will continue to uphold the royal institution.
“Johor PAS Youth wing calls on all party members and the public to remain calm. We regret Hezry’s personal view.
“We believe that his decision to delete the posting was because he realised his mistake and will not repeat it,” he said in a statement.
According to Selangor PAS Youth secretary Aubidullah Fahim, Hezry is no longer with the Selangor PAS youth exco as claimed by some quarters, adding that the last time the latter held the position was in 2021.
Aubidullah also said Hezry’s remark does not reflect the opinion of the Islamist party, saying that it goes against the party’s core struggles.
“The Selangor PAS Youth will leave the matter to the PAS disciplinary committee to take appropriate action if Hezry is found to have violated the party’s discipline.
“We are confident that the police will conduct its investigations on this,” he said in a statement.
