Malaysia’s King and Queen win hearts as news anchors
Malaysia’s King and Queen presented a segment of prime-time news on free-to-air channel TV3 on Jan 17, drawing praises from scores of netizens within hours of their debut as news anchors.
The special royal bulletin segment, which aired at 8pm, was pre-recorded in the morning during the royal couple’s visit to media conglomerate Media Prima Group’s headquarters in Selangor.
During the 10-minute segment, Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah and his wife, Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah, presented three news items.
The first featured interviews with Malaysians who said they would like to see everyone united, just like during a football match.
The second story was about how patin fish has contributed to Pahang’s economy and tourism.
The third item was about their visit to Media Prima’s office.
“Their Majesties were given a corporate brief by the Media Prima’s management, followed by a visit to the Radio City. They even went live with the DJs at Hot FM,” the Queen read as the b-roll footage featuring her and the King played on TV.
She then remarked that “their faces look familiar”, and the King agreed as they chuckled on screen.
Their news segment quickly drew hundreds of comments on social media.
Some netizens said they were proud of the King and Queen’s performance.
Facebook user Adrian Ratnasamy called them the “most adorable King and Queen ever”.
Another user Avvani HR said she could not get enough of the news delivered by the “cute and sweet” royal couple.
Many took the chance to thank the King for looking after the country during the political crisis in the last few years.
Sultan Abdullah has played an unusually active role in Malaysian politics, picking the country’s last three prime ministers during the leadership vacuum caused by coalition infighting, and the 2022 elections that threw up a hung Parliament.
He will be succeeded by Johor Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar on Jan 31.
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