Zaid charged for asking Najib to resign

Former de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim was charged at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court with causing "annoyance by intentionally making statements that were hurtful to others".

He pleaded not guilty and Judge Jagjit Singh fixed Jan 22 for mention.

The judge also denied the prosecution's request to set bail for Zaid, saying that the court did not see Zaid as a flight risk.

Zaid was charged under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act for statements in a speech made on Sept 3 calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

His is represented by counsel M Puravalen and Amarjit Sidhu.

Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom, the former Umno minister said the court's decision to impose bail was "correct" and "kind".

"(That is) a very correct decision. A very kind decision," Zaid said.

In raising a preliminary objection, Puravalen told the judge that his interpretation of the charge sheet was that "causing annoyance to others" referred to the general public.

"In this case, it's a specific reference to Najib but I interpreted it (as being an annoyance) to the public at large," he said.

"And in the application for the summons it does not specify which are the words that are jelik (annoyance)," he added.

Zaid also told reporters that he hoped no one else would be slapped with the same charges as him after this.

"I think there are about 20 million people who want Najib to resign.

"It'll be ridiculous to our court system if you want to charge all of them," he said.

Uploaded onto blog

It was earlier reported that Zaid could have faced a sedition charge as he was investigated under the Sedition Act over the speech he delivered at the Royal Selangor Club in September.

Zaid had urged the people to rally behind former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad who has been calling for the removal of Najib as prime minister.

The full text of his speech was uploaded onto his blog under a Sept 2 posting etitled 'Rally Behind Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad'.

If found guilty, Zaid can be fined up to RM50,000 or jailed for up to a year or both. -Mkini