OPPOSITION Members of Parliament (MPs) on the People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R) slate have been reportedly instructed to stop shaking hands with President, Dr. Irfaan Ali and other senior government functionaries.

Sources close to the ‘Coalition’ informed the Guyana Chronicle that the instruction came after A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) MP and PNC/R Region 10 Chairman, Jermaine Figueira was photographed exchanging a warm handshake with President Ali on Monday.

The photograph of the two men greeting each other was widely shared on social media platforms.

The President at the time was on an outreach in Linden, where he listened to the concerns of residents and provided solutions to addressing them. The President, during the visit, was warmly received by the residents of Linden who were eager to share their concerns with him.

The ‘Coalition’ sources who spoke to this publication on condition of anonymity claimed that the photograph of MP Figueira shaking the President’s hand did not go down well with Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton, who has refused to shake the President’s hand.

Speaking at his weekly press briefing on Tuesday, Norton said if he had to give any advice to MP Figueira, it would have been to protest the President’s visit, a view reinforced by PNC/R activist Norman Brown in a letter published in the Stabroek News on Thursday.

Back in June of this year, the Leader of the Opposition had accused the President of bullying him into a handshake at an event held by the British High Commission.

Earlier this year, Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo had said, candidly, that Norton is not ready for “the big league”. Notwithstanding Norton’s ‘hand-hiding’ strategy, the President continues to display honourable behaviour towards him and other members of the Opposition camp.