Pahang Regent asks cops to halt investigation into Pahang MNS chief

PETALING JAYA: The Regent of Pahang Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatudin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah (pic) apologised to Pahang Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) chief who was called in by the police for allegedly insulting the royal in a tweet that had been deleted.

In his instagram story, Tengku Hassanal delivered a personal message to Noor Jehan Abu Bakar, and said he was late for the event as he was feeling under the weather after recovering from a high fever.

"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," he wrote.

He also said he has asked the police to leave Noor Jehan alone and not create drama after knowing that she was called in by the police.

"I just found out about this, I’ve asked the police to leave her alone.

"Please don’t create drama," he wrote.

Earlier, Noor Jehan vented in a tweet 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.

It is learnt that she had been questioned and 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.

Noor Jehan then explained that 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 was confused over why she was being investigated as she only shared her experience with her Twitter followers.