PRIME Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad dismissed accusations that Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir had been discourteous when he did not shake hands with Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar of Johor.

“It is nothing. Sometimes a person misses out some(one), it doesn’t mean that they are boycotting that person,” he said after chairing the Bersatu weekly council meeting at Petaling Jaya today. 

Mukhriz last Thursday did not greet the Johor sultan at Istana Abu Bakar in Pekan, where people had gathered to pay their last respects to the former Sultan of Pahang, Paduka Ayahanda Sultan Ahmad Shah Al-Musta’in Billah Ibni Almarhum Sultan Abu Bakar Ri’ayatuddin Al Muadzam Shah.

A video clip that went viral showed Mukhriz appearing to deliberately skip shaking hands with the Johor ruler as well as his son, Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim.

Mukhriz apologised for his oversight the next day, and on Saturday, sent a letter to seek the Johor ruler’s forgiveness.

In the letter, he admitted it was an oversight.

“This mistake does not reflect the polite nature of the Kedah people,” Mukhriz had written.

Dr Mahathir said the sultan harboured no hard feelings over Mukhriz’s blunder.

“He shook my hand and I shook his. He (Sultan Ibrahim) said I look young and I said (that’s because) I don’t have a beard like you.” – May 28, 2019.