KUALA LUMPUR – The Sultan of Perak’s office has lodged a police report over a viral message on social media that took the ruler’s previous royal address out of context to stoke racial and religious tensions.
Orang Kaya Bendahara Seri Maharaja, General Tan Sri Mohd Zahidi Zainuddin, said that the police report was filed yesterday to protect Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah’s reputation from being dragged and tarnished by any party to fulfil agendas, whether implicit or explicit.
In a statement, Zahidi said the racially charged statement was disseminated under the name “Amanah Membina Negara” (Trust in Building the Nation) by wrongly contextualising excerpts from Sultan Nazrin’s decree 19 years ago.
It is understood that Amanah Membina Negara is a WhatsApp group. A screengrab of the offending post showed a group participant calling for an “uprising” among Malays to defend their supremacy against the “pendatang” (foreigners), which often refers to minority groups. The post also featured a picture of Sultan Nazrin and short excerpts of his speech.
Zahidi said that at that time, the sultan was the crown prince of Perak with the title Raja Nazrin Shah, delivering the decree at the Second Malay Education Congress held on March 27, 2005, at Berjaya Times Square Hotel & Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur.
Zahidi explained that Sultan Nazrin was concerned that the unethical act of issuing racially charged statements by wrongly contextualising the decree he had expressed 19 years ago as a means of stirring up trouble irresponsibly could directly impact public peace in the country.
“Sultan Nazrin Shah’s decree consisted of 68 paragraphs and 5,748 words. In it, he elucidated on factors influencing the strengths and weaknesses of the Malay race and the importance of the nation being independent-minded and having liberated souls, free minds, enriched with positive values, free to scale the peaks of knowledge, free to delve into the oceans of wisdom, and built on the conviction of the nation.
“He emphasised that religion, leadership, family, and society, as well as knowledge and education, play a strong role in Malay culture. He cautioned that the nation must be vigilant not to quickly fall into the trap of repeating negative expressions that degrade its dignity.
Zahidi said that throughout the decree, Sultan Nazrin did not at all link or express any insinuations towards any race in the country, adding that it is believed that there are parties now choosing to stoke racial and religious tensions to the extent of linking that decree out of context.
“He (Sultan Nazrin) expressed that the chosen measuring scale would influence the value given to the nation. When shortcomings are swiftly interpreted as weaknesses, then rice starts to be mistaken for weeds and wheat for sand,” Zahidi said.
“He wanted the people to realise that when a nation chooses to belittle itself, it opens a window for other nations to scorn it. Then the nation will be viewed as poor, and its customs and culture will be sidelined.”
In the same statement, Zahidi said Sultan Nazrin had also expressed deep concern over escalating racial tensions in the aftermath of the petrol bomb attack on the KK Mart Bidor convenience store on March 26.
He said His Majesty was briefed about the incident by the police and urged authorities to address the issue promptly. – March 29, 2024