Kelantan police chief Yusoff Mamat said although state police had received the report lodged by Nik Alif, Pahang police would take over the case.

“We are handing this over to Pahang police. We only received the report lodged at the Kota Bharu police headquarters,” Berita Harian reported him as saying today.

Nik Alif, who heads the Kelantan Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM)  student representative council, claimed the incident occurred at about 6pm on May 20 after a ceramah held during a university programme at Institut Latihan Memperkasa Ummah in Janda Baik, Pahang.

He said the guest speaker was a former senator and a member of a university’s board of directors, who was later informed that Nik Alif was Nik Abdul Aziz’s grandson.

Nik Alif said they started talking about politics and claimed that the former senator then made a remark criticising PAS before suddenly slapping him on the left cheek.

Azhar has denied the accusation, saying the claims circulating on social media did not portray the full context of the incident and had created a negative perception of him.

He said he had been informed that Nik Alif was the nephew of a friend, and had shaken his hand and touched his cheek in a friendly manner, given his relationship with Nik Alif’s family.

Azhar said the interaction took place openly, in the presence of UiTM student affairs officers, programme organisers, and other participants.