Former DAP member Hew Kuan Yew has been arrested by the police over a Facebook post which poked fun at Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor.
It is believed that several netizens had lodged police reports on Hew's Facebook post, which contrasted Disney's latest film "Beauty and the Beast" with Najib and his wife.
Hew was arrested in Penang this morning and is understood that he would be brought to Johor for further investigations.
His lawyer RSN Rayer, who accompanied him to the Timur Laut district police station, told reporters that police were not forthcoming with details.
"They didn't mention what law was allegedly violated nor do we know which Facebook post they were referring to," he said.
A netizen Aaron Nah had recently urged the public to lodge police reports against Hew's Facebook post.
Nah, in a Facebook post of his own, argued that Hew had "insulted" women and the nation's leaders with his post.
Contacted by Malaysiakini, Nah refused to confirm or deny if he was a MCA member as claimed by some.
In a statement later, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang said he was shocked by Hew's posting.
"I do not endorse Kuan Yaw’s language on his Facebook which is vulgar, vituperative and vitriolic but it is no crime, and definitely no basis to arrest him or to deploy scarce police resources against him," he said.
Hew was once Kit Siang's political secretary.
Previously, Hew landed in the spotlight for his remarks during the Sarawak state election, where he reportedly told Chinese voters that electing DAP candidate Abdul Aziz Isa would lead to a “Melayu screw Melayu” situation.
Hew denied his remark smacked of racism, arguing that he would not have asked Sarawakians to vote for a Malay candidate if he was racist.
Following this, Kit Siang described Hew's comment as "vulgar and insensitive", but denied it was racist.
In July, Hew announced his resignation from DAP, with immediate effect, after brickbats were thrown his way for his Facebook posting that the South China Sea belonged to China- Mkini
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