A VIDEO clip of Sultan Nazrin Shah’s speech that was edited for political advantage is now classified as a race, religion and royalty (3R) case, Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain said. 

He said the police had taken a statement from a woman in her 40s yesterday regarding the viral video, which suggested the Perak ruler was endorsing Islamist party, PAS. 

“No arrests so far, and the police have recorded her statement.

“Whether she will be recalled depends on the investigation. This is a 3R case as it creates sentiments against the sultan,” Razarudin was quoted as saying by Sinar Harian. 

The IGP said the case is being investigated under section 505 of the penal code, section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act, as well as the Sedition Act 1948.

Yesterday, Razarudin confirmed 24 reports had been received on the incident and that investigations were ongoing.

Prior to that, the Perak Palace also confirmed lodging a police report on the matter. 

Palace spokesman Zahidi Zainuddin said the video, which included an excerpt from a 2013 speech by the then-regent of Perak, is believed to have been made and uploaded to influence voters to support PAS in the six-state elections on August 12. 

Zahidi said the ruler’s actual speech explained the history of PAS and Umno, and reminded both parties to seek understanding and cooperation despite their different political approaches. 

Earlier, media outlets reported that the woman who sought to highlight the edited video was the Malacca Muslimat PAS chief, and it is believed that she edited the clip from a video previously published on the “Dewan Muslimat PAS Melaka” Facebook page on November 11, 2022.