Malaysians were taken on a whirlwind of speculations and uncertainties since news of Sultan Muhammad V’s wedding went viral in the social media.
It all started when the Agong took a two-month break from Nov 1, 2018 to Dec 31, 2018. It was during this time that reports of his wedding to a Moscow beauty queen had surfaced on international news and tabloids.
During the Agong’s leave, viral reports surfaced on claims that he had tied the knot with Russian beauty queen Oksana Voevodina, in a lavish ceremony in Moscow.
Asked for his comments, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was reported on Jan 4 by the Star Online as saying: “Like you, I’ve heard rumours. I have not received any letter or any official indication about anything.
“So I am not going to talk about all this.”
That was 1.23pm
At 1.59pm that same day, the New Straits Times (NSTP) had this to say:
Quote: KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad says the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Muhammad V has returned to resume his duties as the supreme head of state.
“Yes, as far as I know (the Agong is back to resume his duties).” Unquote
Further down the story, NSTP said:
Quote: On rumours of a special meeting held on Wednesday night and today among the nation’s rulers on the position of the current Agong, Dr Mahathir said : “I do not know.”
When asked on the veracity of the rumours, Dr Mahathir said he too had heard the same.
“Like you, I heard rumours. I did not receive any letters, any indication about anything, so I am not going to talk about rumours.”
On whether there should be a new acting Agong if the ruler had not returned to resume duties, Dr Mahathir said that would be decided the Conference of Rulers. Unquote
A day earlier the Malay Mail ran this headline:
Deputy Kelantan MB rubbishes rumours of Sultan Muhammad V’s abdication
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3: The Kelantan state government has denied speculation that Sultan Muhammad V of Kelantan will abdicate the Yang di-Pertuan Agong throne in the near future.
In its report, Malaysiakini quoted Kelantan’s Deputy Mentri Besar Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah saying the state government has not received any information regarding the matter and dismissed it as mere rumours.
“The state government does not have any information. If these are speculation, we shouldn’t believe it.
“We are shocked because there are a lot of rumours, not just about the Agong but also on the government. We shouldn’t listen to rumours,” he reportedly said in Kota Baru.
There appeared to be attempts at cover up but Malaysians love their King so much, there is no hiding how the story would end – that Sultan Muhammad V would abdicate, which was exactly what he did yesterday.
It’s like Malaysians’ love for the durian, there is no hiding the king of fruits from them. In fact, they even know the inside of the fruit without opening it.
