Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Harun has strongly denied a claim by an Umno man that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong had reacted angrily to an explanation by him on the re-opening of Parliament during a royal audience yesterday.

Saiful Bahari Baharom had quoted a “source” in claiming in a Facebook post that Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah had raised his voice at Azhar during a meeting with the king at Istana Negara yesterday.

“I consider that a gross misrepresentation of what transpired,” Azhar told MalaysiaNow, when asked for a response to the claim.

“In fact, it is a blatant lie,” he added.

Azhar, alongside his deputies as well as Dewan Negara president Rais Yatim were called to the palace for an audience with Sultan Abdullah, at which the latter reiterated an earlier statement that parliamentary proceedings should be held as soon as possible.

Saiful Bahari Baharom (right) and his Facebook post on his version of what transpired during a meeting between the Agong and speakers from both Houses of Parliament.

Saiful had further claimed that everyone in the room had agreed with the Agong except for Azhar who gave “excuses” for why the Dewan Rakyat could not be convened.

“I think he is in a parallel universe, as is his source,” quipped Azhar when told about the claim.

“Contrary to what was alleged, Rais and I gave our highest commitment and readiness to hold a sitting as and when it is called.”

Azhar however added that it would be a breach of protocol to discuss irrelevant details of what transpired during a royal audience.

Azhar and Rais today issued a joint statement saying they had submitted a proposal to Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin for a special sitting to be held before Aug 1.

“We, along with our deputies, uphold the king’s decree and have stated the commitment and full readiness of Parliament to hold a sitting as decreed by His Majesty,” they said.

A check on Saiful’s Facebook page shows a series of posts condemning Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and the government’s various efforts at containing the Covid-19 pandemic.

In one of his postings today, he mocked a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office announcing that Muhyiddin had been admitted to hospital, saying the prime minister could have come down with diarrhoea as he could no longer take the attacks against him.

In 2018, Saiful, in defending Najib Razak over the revelation that the former prime minister had received RM2.6 billion in his bank account, claimed that Dr Mahathir Mohamad had kept £65 million (RM373 million) in a London bank account.

Among others, Saiful, who claimed that he had been close to Mahathir’s family, said the money was kept under his late father’s name in the London bank account. He further claimed that the money had since been returned to Mahathir.

“So, I was surprised and disappointed when Tun Mahathir slammed Najib because of the RM2.6 billion account,” he wrote.