PRIME Minister (PM) Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim along with former prime ministers Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, and Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob attended a tea party hosted by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah yesterday (Jan 20).
However, the event has become viral due to image manipulation by supporters of certain political factions.
A government-owned media outlet released some photographs of the event showing only Dr Mahathir and his wife sitting at the royal table and omitted to publish the photos where Anwar is seen with the royal couple.
This gave rise to slander, with opposition supporters rallying online to say this is the start of the end of the Madani government because Anwar was not invited to the tea party.A pro-Pakatan Harapan (PH) online outlet wrote that online ‘cytros’ are saying Anwar and the King are no longer friendly with each other.This is a follow-up to the wedding of Brunei Prince Mateen, attended by the PM but online rumours circulated saying he was not invited to the wedding and was not seen in official videos.However, Anwar was seen at the wedding with his wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
Yesterday, ‘cytros’ linked a photo of Dr Mahathir seated at a table with the King and Queen of Malaysia, raising questions about why Dr Mahathir occupied the main table instead of the PM.Meanwhile, Anwar was seen mingling with the Agong and his wife, the Raja Permaisuri Agong, Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah who was also at the royal tea reception held at Istana Negara, ahead of the completion of the King’s reign.
Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah hari ini berkenan berangkat menghadiri Majlis Jamuan Teh Diraja bersempena tamat tempoh pemerintahan Seri Paduka pada jam 3.10 petang di Istana Negara.
Turut berangkat Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Hajah… pic.twitter.com/wYGPlACaar
— BERNAMA (@bernamadotcom) January 20, 2024
The event was attended by 2,500 guests, including Cabinet ministers, MPs and heads of foreign missions.The others present were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil and Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul.The guests were entertained by an orchestral performance by Kolej Yayasan Saad from Melaka.The royal couple spent almost an hour mingling and taking photos with the guests, according to Bernama. – Jan 21, 2023
Main photo credit: FMT
