IPOH, July 31 — The Sultan of Perak’s Office has lodged a police report over a video of the Perak Sultan, Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah’s speech that was edited for political advantage.
Orang Kaya Bendahara Seri Maharaja, Gen (Rtd) Tan Sri Mohd Zahidi Zainuddin said the act was not only unethical but also indirectly tarnished the Sultan’s reputation as the ruler of the Perak state.
Mohd Zahidi said the way the video clip was edited involved and dragged in a Malay ruler for party politics.
“We stress that the Perak Sultan, Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, does not favour any political group and is far from openly supporting any of them,” he said in a statement today, adding that the video quoted a short part of Sultan Nazrin’s speech, titled “Ummah Unity, Hope, Reality and Challenge” made during Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka’s Ummah Talk on February 19, 2013, when he was acting Raja of Perak.
The edited video was believed to have been made and uploaded to influence voters to support PAS in the state elections in six states on August 12, he said, adding that the actual speech by the Sultan explained the history of PAS and Umno and had a reminder to both parties to seek understanding and cooperation despite their political approaches.
“Sultan Nazrin’s speech contained 7,500 words and took 90 minutes to be delivered and the edited part the video used was just a short quote, and the Sultan also had kind words for Umno as well.
“The Sultan gave a balanced review between the two Malay political parties and also issued a warning to both parties that the passion for political support and power should not divide the people and destroy the country,” Mohd Zahidi said.
Media outlets reported yesterday that the woman who sought to highlight the edited video was the Melaka Muslimat PAS chief, and it is believed that she edited the clip from a video previously uploaded on the Melaka Pas Dewan Muslimat’s Facebook on November 11, 2022. — Bernama
