Disclaimer: In Real Life is a platform for everyday people to share their experiences and voices. All articles are personal stories and do not necessarily echo In Real Life’s sentiments.
A few years ago, a news report that a Malay Prince had visited the city of Rostock, Germany went viral. However, it turned out to be fake news. At the heart of this strange tale is the man himself, Sutan, who now shares his own account of the absurd series of events that transpired while he was in Germany.
My name is Sutan Amzari Abas. One day, while I was on a trip to Germany, I was mistaken for a Malay Prince.
Here’s how it all began.
I was working at a Malaysian company as a senior business manager. My role involved running operations for my Malaysian boss who was living in Europe at the time.
My long-time business partner, a German guy named Jurgen, asked me to join a trip to Rostock, Germany to build new networks with companies within the aerospace industry.
One fun fact about me and my family history is that I am technically a 4th generation prince descended from the Mandailing Lubis Clan (Orang Mandailing).
The Mandailing Lubis Clan originate from Sumatra, and “Sutan” is a family name meant for married men in our clan. For example, Sutan Puasa, the man who is allegedly the real founder of Kuala Lumpur, is also one of the Mandailing Clan.
However, I am not related to the Royal Agungs in Malaysia, and I do not have any claim to the Malaysian Sultanate. Normally, a member of the Malay royal families would have a prefix in front of their names, such as Raja, Tengku, or Tunku.
Flying to Rostock, Germany.
It was my first ever experience of visiting Europe, and I was very excited about this trip. I remember practising my German introductions very carefully.
We took the direct flight from KLIA and touched down in Rostock within 16 hours. I was invited to stay at Jurgen’s home, an old castle that had been refurbished into a modern home.
The next day, a German journalist gatecrashed our private event.
We held an event for some German company representatives to listen to our presentation. Although the event was invitation-only, a German journalist in her 20s arrived and tried to enter.
Jurgen wasn’t too pleased with her being there, but I allowed her in as I pitied her being rejected at the door. She seemed odd and acted strange at the time, but I didn’t pay much mind to her. She even attended another session where I gave a talk to the guests.
She didn’t speak much English, but she wanted to interview me after my speech, so we brought an interpreter to translate my English into German. She asked some questions and I answered them as best I could.
“Sutan Amzari Abas, what brings you to Rostock?” She asked.
“I’m here on a business trip to develop ties between my company and our client,” I replied.
“I understand from your business partner that you are a Malaysian prince, is that right?”
I answered, “Not exactly,” and then explained that I was descended from the Mandailing Lubis Clan which originated from Sumatra, and I was the 4th generation of the original Mandailing who settled in Malaysia in the 1900s.
During the interview, I noticed that she didn’t have any notebook, pen or recording device with her. But since the interpreter had accurately translated my English to the journalist, I thought she understood my explanation.
After she thanked me and left, I put that interaction out of my mind. I had no idea what was to come the next day.
The next morning, the news broke.
The day before I was due to fly home, local German news was ablaze with my name and face on the local paper. “Malaysian Royal Prince Visits Rostock” it read on the front page of the biggest newspaper in the city.
“A member of the Malaysian royalty, Sultan Amzari Abas, is visiting our city over the weekend. He is on official business to improve the relationship of Rostock with the country of Malaysia, which is in SouthEast Asia.”
The way the article was written, it was like I was a foreign dignitary on a diplomatic mission to strengthen bilateral ties between two nations!
I was quoted by a German news site (the article has since been taken down) saying:
“It is often not easy for business representatives from outside the country to make contact with the right people, especially politicians. That is why I am here and I would like to help.”
This was not what I said. The purpose behind the trip was to build a new network and relations with some German aerospace companies, not for profit-making. I didn’t make a penny from that trip.
Jurgen asked me what action I wanted to take. I said since they had published a piece of news without proper fact-checking, and I needed to correct the news immediately.
I asked him to call the newspaper to explain that they got the facts wrong, and to take down the article. The newspaper apologised for the mistake, but explained it had already gone to print, so they couldn’t retract the article.
As we were already flying home in less than a day’s time, we decided to let the matter rest. We mentioned this to our business partners, and they understood that we didn’t do anything wrong.
Returning to Malaysia.
When I landed back in Malaysia, I thought I could go back to my normal life as a normal Malaysian, but I was so wrong. A few months later, my friends started calling me, telling me they had read about me in the local Malaysian news.
A social news website published an article, saying that a Malaysian man had pretended to be a member of the royalty to visit Germany! This time, the headline made it seem like I was intentionally impersonating a member of the Malaysian royal family!
I sent off a letter to the publication to explain that they had made an honest mistake and to request for them to take down their article, which they did, but the fake news had already been widely circulated around Malaysian online media.
I started getting calls and questions from people I knew asking me if it was true that I impersonated a royal family while in Germany.
Each time, I patiently explained to them the truth, that it all started as a misunderstanding by a German journalist making a mistake and letting that misinformation go public without checking the facts.
Finally, I decided to take matters into my own hands and publish the real, 100% true, factually accurate story of how I ended up being mistaken for a Malaysian Prince by a city in Germany, and this is the story.
A year after the incident, I was invited back to Europe again in August, during the MCO, for a special meeting during COVID-19 to rearrange and restructure our network strategies facing the pandemic. Until now, our network and relations with our German partners are still going strong. To make people understand, if I am a fake person or scammer, how could I have received an invitation for a 2nd meeting in Europe a year later? Not everyone could fly at that time. To fly out, you need a special reason and cause.
I don’t hold any grudges against the German newspaper. To me, it’s free marketing from an article by a young lady who only wanted to chase hot news. At the same time, it shows how dangerous the media can be to tarnish any individual with news.
Sekian,
Sutan Amzari Abas
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Also read: 5 Things I Learnt When I Moved to KL as a Johor Boy
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