![Mahathir Mohamad wearing glasses: zaid-mahathir-palace-1]({"default":{"load":"default","w":"27","h":"15","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BBGyZe4.img?h=154&w=270&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=150&y=188"}})
PETALING JAYA: Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s decision to return awards presented to him by the Selangor palace was the honourable thing to do, says former minister Zaid Ibrahim.
This followed a source close to the former prime minister confirming that the awards were returned, in the wake of strong comments against him by Selangor ruler, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.
The move comes as the sultan marks his 72nd birthday today.
“When the sultan took the unprecedented step to publicly declare him undesirable, it was no longer tenable for Tun to keep the titles bestowed on him,” Zaid, who himself has been publicly criticised by the Selangor sultan over Twitter postings in defence of Mahathir, told FMT today.
“It’s the only honourable thing for him to do.”
The sultan first criticised Mahathir following the latter’s speech during Pakatan Harapan’s “anti-kleptocracy” rally in October, in which he referred to Prime Minister Najib Razak as a “descendant of Bugis pirates”.
The Selangor royal household are descendants of the Bugis ethnic group.
Mahathir has maintained that his remarks were only against Najib and not directed at the Bugis community.
The Selangor sultan further criticised and condemned Mahathir in separate interviews published by The Star and Utusan Malaysia.
The late Selangor sultan, Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, bestowed the Seri Paduka Mahkota Selangor (SPMS) award on Mahathir in 1978.
In 2003, following Mahathir’s retirement as prime minister, Sultan Sharafuddin awarded him with the Darjah Kerabat Yang Amat Dihormati (DK).
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