Anyone can meet him, says Azmin on Nurul Izzah meeting Dr M

KLANG: There are no restrictions on who can meet Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad even if he is overseas, said Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azmin Ali.

"It is okay. Anyone can go and meet Dr Mahathir,'' Azmin, who is PKR deputy president, told reporters when asked if it was appropriate for party vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar to meet the former premier in London recently.

A news portal reported Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia strategist Rais Husin as saying that the meeting between Dr Mahathir and Nurul Izzah revolved around issues pertaining to the registration of the Opposition coalition.

Asked if the meeting was official in nature, Azmin said he did not think so and PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail had informed him on Thursday that Nurul Izzah was in London for other purposes and took the opportunity to call on Dr Mahathir who was also there.

"Apparently she was there for some other meetings and Dr Mahathir was also in London and so she decided to pay a courtesy call, maybe since everyone is in a Raya mood,'' Azmin said at the Klang Municipal Council Hari Raya open house on Friday.

Azmin said it was good that many parties have finally accepted that Dr Mahathir has a role to play.

"I think this is a good start for political parties and leaders to sit down and discuss.

"We may have some differences and we may disagree but I think we have to work hard based on common understanding and policies,'' said Azmin, adding that he thought the meeting was a good initiative.

On another matter, Azmin said he was not privy to information regarding the audit of MP's financial allocations for community service.

He was replying to PKR's Kelana Jaya MP Wong Chen's claim that there were discrepancies in the manner the audit of his constituency was carried out and that his allocation was frozen after he had questioned the audit process.

Azmin said it was not the duty of the executive to interfere in the auditing process.

"If you believe in the process of democracy, transparency and accountability, we should allow the audit department to come in and audit and allow the process to go on,'' said Azmin.

He reiterated that he too had been audited and had no qualms about it.