“I was granted an audience by Sultan Sallehuddin Sultan Badlishah, and my friend (Riza) was with me at the meeting at the palace,” Anwar told reporters after an event in Bangsar here.

“I don’t want to relate the matter to anything more than that.”

Anwar also said no application for REE mining was submitted during the meeting.

“The issue here is the theft of REE. Don’t divert the issue. Granting approvals to a Chinese company without permission, that is the issue,” he said.

Earlier this week, home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail produced a photograph of caretaker Kedah menteri besar Sanusi Nor with a Chinese national he claimed was brought in by Kedah Menteri Besar Incorporated (Kedah MBI) to mine REE.

Saifuddin also produced a letter purportedly signed by Kedah MBI CEO Sobri Osman which named two Chinese nationals.

In response, Sanusi said one of the Chinese nationals had dealings with Kedah MBI and an agreement to extract REE before he took office.

Sanusi then claimed Anwar had previously introduced Riza to the prospect of mining REE in Kedah. He said Anwar and the tycoon had visited Kedah a few weeks before the state assembly was dissolved in June.

Saifuddin had also dismissed such claims on Wednesday, saying that Riza was just accompanying Anwar to the palace and that there was no discussion on REE mining during the meeting.