KUALA LUMPUR – The Pahang regent has apologised to the head of the Pahang Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) who was called in by cops yesterday for allegedly insulting the royal in a now-deleted tweet.
Taking to Instagram Stories today to deliver a personal message to Noor Jehan Abu Bakar, Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah said he was under the weather after recovering from a high fever prior to attending the event.
“My sincere apologies for being late for the event. I was not feeling well that morning and had to take (a) few precautions for everyone’s safety.
“I really appreciate your time and concern, thank you.”
Sharing a post of The Vibes’ report on Noor Jehan’s case, he said he just found out about it and “have asked police to leave her alone”.
“Please don’t create drama.”
Noor Jehan had claimed that Tengku Hassanal and other high-ranking officers were two hours late for the Buffer Zone Ecosystem Restoration Programme – a tree-planting event in Pantai Chenor, Kemaman, Terengganu on July 18.
After being questioned by police yesterday, Kuantan district police chief Wan Mohd Zahari Wan Busu told The Vibes that the investigation is being carried out under Section 500 and 500(b) of the Penal Code for defamatory statements as well as Section 233 of the Multimedia and Communications Act 1998.
The first charge carries the punishment of imprisonment for a term of up to two years, a fine, or both if convicted, while the second involving the misuse of communications networks carries a maximum of one year in jail, or a fine of up to RM50,000.
Yesterday, Noor Jehan said she did not intend to slander anyone and was instead venting her frustrations over having to wait for two hours for the programme to begin, adding that she is confused over why she is being investigated as she only shared her experience with her Twitter followers.
Previously, Pahang authorities had cracked down on other leaders from environmental NGOs, including former Khazanah Alam Malaysia president Puan Sri Shariffa Sabrina Syed Akil, 60, who was slapped with a lawyer’s letter from the state government seeking an apology and RM1 million in damages after she spoke on deforestation and logging in the state.
The notice alleged that her statements had put the state government in a bad light and subjected it to accusations from the public that “it is a government that is irresponsible, deceitful, and lacks integrity”. – The Vibes, July 26, 2022
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