KUALA LUMPUR — A special assistant to International Trade and Industry Minister (Miti) Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz has denied sending a message claiming that the Youth and Sports Ministry had issued a statement on the recent Perdana Fellowship debacle to “keep the public quiet”.
This comes after a screenshot of the text message, which former Perdana fellow Muhammad Azhar allegedly posted on Instagram stories under the username @azharsturtle, had surfaced on social media platforms.
The aide, Suria Zainal, said that she would be lodging a police report on the matter.
“The statement saying (KBS issued the statement to keep the public quiet and that he could resume work in Miti) is totally not true. That was fabricated,” she said when contacted by Scoop.
“I’m filing a police report on this.”
The message allegedly sent by Suria said that the Youth ministry had to release a statement on the matter to placate the public, and that Azhar could continue his fellowship as usual.
It said: “Azhar, take this whole episode as a big lesson. It’s a setback, not an outright life failure”.
“KBS (Youth ministry) had to release a statement to keep the public quiet. YB has requested for you to come to Miti tomorrow and carry out as usual.”
A caption attached to the story also said “Allah bless such understanding people (sic)”.
Azhar, who claimed to be a Universiti Malaya (UM) graduate, initially became the subject of public scrutiny due to contradictory details in his education and achievements prior to his fellowship.
Following the viral revelation, the programme’s alumni association expressed “deep concern” and submitted an official letter to the authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.
Subsequently, the Youth ministry issued a statement that a fellow under Miti had been removed from the programme for breaching the programme’s agreement terms, after confirming that one of his achievements had been falsified. — September 17, 2023