Malaysian Royalty Aims Wrath at Anwar’s Rival; Cops Begin Probe
(Bloomberg) -- A Malaysian prince sought police action against opposition leader Muhyiddin Yassin over a campaign speech mentioning the former king, in a display of the royal’s growing influence in Malaysia’s political sphere.
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Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah, prince of Pahang state, said Monday that Muhyiddin “deliberately and cynically” belittled his father’s duties as king ahead of last Saturday’s by-election in Kelantan. The police said they will record Muhyiddin’s statement on Wednesday to facilitate investigations, Bernama reported.
Muhyiddin has denied wrongdoing and said he would cooperate with the police. “My speech in Nenggiri was a factual statement not intended to insult the royal institution nor to create seditious tendencies,” he said in a statement Monday.
Videos circulating online show Muhyiddin telling a crowd he at one point had enough support to become prime minister, yet the king at the time didn’t invite him to the palace to be sworn in. It was a reference to his heated race against Anwar Ibrahim for the top job after a hung parliament in 2022.
Malaysia’s rotating monarchy has played a significant role in determining the prime minister as governments struggled to keep a parliamentary majority. Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, whose five-year-term as king ended in January, named Anwar as prime minister after he agreed to the monarch’s proposal to form a unity government. King Ibrahim Iskandar, who then ascended the throne, has repeatedly urged the public to back Anwar.
“I want the police to take firm action against Muhyiddin Yassin for deliberately touching on the sentiments” of race, royalty and religion, Tengku Hassanal said in a statement issued by the Pahang palace. “His remarks also appear immature, as if he still can’t accept the fact that he wasn’t appointed prime minister.”
Lawmakers from Anwar’s ruling coalition have also lodged police reports against Muhyiddin, who was Malaysia’s prime minister from March 2020 to August 2021. While there are no lese majeste laws in the country, those deemed to be found insulting the monarchy can be charged under sedition laws.
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