Article claiming Malaysia's former king 'angry with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim' is fabricated
- Published on December 20, 2024 at 06:30
- 3 min read
- By Najmi Mamat, AFP Malaysia
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A screenshot of the purported news report -- bearing the logo of online news website Malaysiakini -- was shared on Facebook on December 12, 2024.
The Malay-language article is headlined, "The sultan of Pahang is disappointed and angry with the answer given by PM Anwar Ibrahim regarding the royal addendum".
It featured a photo of the ruler of central Malaysia's Pahang state Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah -- who the jailed former prime minister Najib Razak claims issued an order that would allow him to serve the rest of his corruption sentence under house arrest (archived link).
The supposed order, a royal addendum, has not been made public and there has been no comment from the former king, whose term in the largely ceremonial role ended in January.
The article also features a typo-riddled section of Malay-language text that reads: "Anwar Ibrahim was once granted a royal pardon, he should have better understanding on the order of addendum, and not confuse the people by looking for irrelevant reasons."
It surfaced after Anwar refused to discuss the issue in parliament, citing a request from the Attorney General's Chambers that all parties refrain from making statements as the matter was subjudice (archived link).
It was also shared in a Facebook group with more than 100,000 members, as well as on TikTok, with comments on the posts suggesting users believed it showed a genuine news report.
"Give [Anwar] the punishment he deserves," wrote one user.
Another said: "This is what a king is like.... speaking to uphold the rulers' sovereignty."
But Pahang state legal adviser Saiful Edris Zainuddin said on December 12 the palace would not issue any statements regarding the purported royal decree to respect court proceedings, local broadcaster Astro Awani reported (archived link).
'Never issued such a report'
A keyword search on Google led to a post published on Malaysiakini's official Facebook page on December 12 that said the article shared online had "misused its logo" (archived link).
"Malaysiakini has never issued such a report," it said.
Additionally, elements of the purported article indicate it was likely doctored -- as well as including typos, the font does not match that used on Malaysiakini's website.
The layout of the fabricated article also differs from genuine articles on the Malaysiakini website; it appears to have options to toggle the language above the former king's photo, but these do not appear in genuine Malaysiakini reports.
Below is a screenshot comparison between the fabricated article (left) and a genuine Malaysiakini report (right):
AFP has debunked other false claims circulating in Malaysia that used doctored or fabricated news reports here and here.
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