Facing police reports, DAP’s Tengku Zulpuri says never mentioned Pahang royals

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 — DAP deputy secretary-general Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puji has today dismissed claims that he insulted the Pahang royal institution during a recent speech.

He said his words were manipulated ahead of the 15th general election campaigning period, after several groups lodged police reports against him.

“If you were there, you can tell the speech was straightforward, I didn’t mention the Istana or whatnot. I know it was the Raub Umno Youth chief who filed the police report.

“They spun it, I know if I speak about religion or race they will also spin it. It’s election right, that’s an election capital,” Tengku Zulpuri told reporters at the DAP headquarters here.

He also clarified that he had only mentioned “Orang Besar Berempat” and that they had allegedly done wrong in relation to the institutions in Pahang.

“I only mentioned Orang Besar Berempat... I mentioned that the Orang Besar Berempat, for instance, did something wrong.

“It is embarrassing, and I am also a Pahang native, so that’s why I mentioned it,” he said.

According to Tengku Zulpuri, in Pahang, there is Orang Besar Berempat (fourfold dignitary system), Orang Besar Berlapan (eightfold dignitary system) and Orang Besar Enambelas (16-fold dignitary system).

In a MalaysiaGazette report yesterday, Tengku Zulpuri said this was proof of Umno’s stale strategy of continuously using elements of religion, race and the Istana to attack the Opposition bloc, especially ahead of the election.

He said it cannot be that the mention of Orang Besar who allegedly embezzled the people’s money was considered an insult to the royal institution.

In the news report, Tengku Zulpuri noted, as a descendant of the Orang Besar Berlapan family, he is very ashamed when there are among the Orang Besar of Pahang and former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak who allegedly embezzled the people’s money.

He also said that it was Raub Umno Youth chief Fadzli Mohamad Kamal’s attempt at cheap mileage to lobby for the Dong state which was previously held by Datuk Sri Saharuddin Moin.