THE Sultan of Perak’s Office has lodged a police report over a video of Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah’s speech that was edited for political advantage. 

Orang Kaya Bendahara Seri Maharaja, Gen Mohd Zahidi Zainuddin said the act was not only unethical but also indirectly tarnished the sultan’s reputation. 

“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 dan Pustaka’s Ummah Talk on February 19, 2013, when he was acting Raja of Perak.  

The edited video is believed to have been made and uploaded to influence voters to support PAS in the six state elections on August 12, he said, adding that 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. 

“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 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. – Bernama, July 31, 2023.