Black-clad cult tries to claim M'sian throne
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Armed with flags, 10 try to enter palace to "replace" king
In a bizarre attempt to claim the country’s throne, 10 people tried to enter the Malaysian Istana Negara (Royal Palace) in Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur, armed with nothing more than flags and self-produced documents declaring their leader as the “true heir” to the throne.
The group, all members of a cult known as “Kumpulan Panji Hitam dari Timur Empayar Langkasuka Nusantara” (meaning “Black Banner Group from the East Langkasuka Nusantara Empire”), gathered in front of the main entrance to the palace at around 4.10am on Monday.
Kuala Lumpur Criminal Investigation Department chief Senior Assistant Commissioner Ku Chin Wah said police were alerted shortly after they arrived in three cars.
“We arrested eight men and two women clad in black. They were taken to the Travers police station in Kuala Lumpur and remanded to assist in investigations,” he said.
He said investigations revealed that the group came to the palace to “replace” the current king of Malaysia, as they claimed that their leader was the true heir to the throne.
“There were no weapons in the vehicles, only 13 flags and advice of authorisation documents,” Ku said.
In one of the documents, one of the men claimed to be “Tuanku Sultan Raja Merongmahawangsa II @ Sultan Kedah Asli @ Yang di-Pertuan Agong Malaysia Asli @ Raja Nusantara @ Raja Utusan Allah Akhiruzaman Fasa I and Pewaris Sah Empayar Langkasuka Panji Hitam dari Timur”.
The original Merongmahawang-sa, a descendant of Alexander the Great, is said to be the first king of the ancient Langkasuka kingdom, the precursor to the Kedah sultanate, the oldest sultanate in Malaysian history.
The self-proclaimed “rightful Yang di-Pertuan Agong”, in one of his documents, also called for the formation of a three-million strong army of people aged between 16 and 30 to “set the stage for the return of al Mahdi”.
Imam Mahdi is the prophesied Muslim leader who will come just before the end of the world.
Ku said the case was being investigated under Section 121B of the Penal Code for intending to depose the king and Section 9(5) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 for failing to give notice of assembly to the police.
Sources said that three of the eight men in the group did not have legitimate documents while the rest came from Malacca, Perak, Kedah and Johor states.
Palace guards said they had not received any special orders following the incident.
