Pahang Crown Prince Urges Police To Investigate Muhyiddin For Belittling Former Agong
Police have said they will call the former prime minister to record his statement.
By Sadho Ram — 19 Aug 2024, 01:19 PM
The Crown Prince of Pahang, Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah, has expressed his deep regret and anger over alleged defamatory statements made by Perikatan Nasional chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin
According to Tengku Hassanal, Muhyiddin had belittled the role of his father, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, during his tenure as the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
In a strongly worded statement issued by Istana Abdulaziz, Tengku Hassanal criticised Muhyiddin for allegedly manipulating facts to cast doubt on Sultan Abdullah's impartiality in appointing Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia to lead the unity government following the 15th General Election.
The Crown Prince stated that Muhyiddin's comments were not only misleading but also aimed at undermining public confidence in the Malay Rulers and creating division among the people.
"His statement also appears immature, as if he still cannot accept that he was not appointed as the prime minister," Tengku Hassanal said.
Tengku Hassanal emphasised that Sultan Abdullah acted within the framework of the Federal Constitution when appointing the prime minister
He cited Article 40(2) of the Constitution, which grants the Yang di-Pertuan Agong discretion in appointing the prime minister, and Article 43(2), which requires the appointee to command the confidence of the majority in the Dewan Rakyat.
"His Majesty did not arbitrarily decide to appoint the prime minister. He consulted constitutional experts, top public servants, and the Council of Rulers before making the decision.
"Parliament's subsequent vote of confidence in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on 19 December, 2022, further validated His Majesty’s choice," the Crown Prince added.
Tengku Hassanal also urged the police to take firm action against the former prime minister for allegedly infringing on sensitive 3R (royalty, religion, and race) issues.
His private secretary, Amir Syafiq Hamzah, filed a police report at the Kuantan police station last night, 18 August.
Tengku Hassanal's statement comes amid the circulation of a video of Muhyiddin's speech at a Nenggiri by-election ceramah in Kelantan on 15 August
In the video, Muhyiddin is seen questioning Sultan Abdullah's decision during his tenure as Agong, claiming he was denied an opportunity to be sworn in as prime minister despite having the support of 115 members of parliament, reported Malaysiakini.
"According to the Federal Constitution, I had more than enough numbers to become the prime minister. But I don't know how… the Agong back then didn't invite me to the palace to get sworn in. Who was the previous Agong? It's (from) Pahang lah," Muhyiddin was heard saying in the video.
However, Muhyiddin did not mention that Sultan Abdullah had offered him the opportunity to form a coalition government with Anwar's Pakatan Harapan, which the Pagoh member of parliament rejected.
Meanwhile, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said that police have received 29 reports from various parties regarding the matter so far and would be calling Muhyiddin to provide a statement
"We are calling him to provide his statement on 20 August to facilitate investigations," he said, adding that the investigation will be carried out by the Bukit Aman Classified Crime Investigation Unit.
