Dewan Negara Perak criticises video of Perak Sultan speech being edited for political purpose
IPOH, July 31 — Dewan Negara Perak today condemned and described the act of editing a video of Sultan Perak Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah’s speech for political purpose as insulting the Royal institution.
Orang Kaya Bendahara Seri Maharaja, Tan Sri Mohd Zahidi Zainuddin said the video was edited from a speech by the Ruler at the Majlis Wacana Perpaduan Ummah organised by the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka in February, 19, 2013 where the Ruler praised the two biggest Malay political parties in the country namely Umno and PAS.
“The video that was edited and uploaded by a woman only contains the part where the Perak Sultan praised the Islamic party PAS.
“It is believed that the video was uploaded with the aim of influencing voters to support the PAS in the upcoming six state elections,” he said in a statement.
Mohd Zahidi explained that the Perak Sultan in the speech, which contains 7,500 words and took about 90 minutes to deliver, was urging both parties to find a way to establish understanding and cooperation despite having different political views.
“His Majesty gave a balanced review between the two Malay political parties and also issued a warning to both parties to ensure the passion for political support and power should not divide the nation and destroy the country,” he said.
Mohd Zahidi also said the Perak Sultan’s Office has a lodged a police report on this matter in order to protect the good name of the Ruler.
“We would like to emphasise that the Perak Sultan does not favour any political parties and is far from giving open support to any political group.
“The act of circulating the edited video is unethical and deemed disrespectful to the reign and defamed the Royal Throne. Therefore, the video should be stopped from circulating on social media,” he said.
