Police record Kadir Jasin’s statement in sedition probe

The former editor is under investigation following 30 complaints in response to an article about the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

About 30 complaints were lodged with police about Kadir Jasin’s blog article of June 6.

PETALING JAYA: Police have recorded a statement from former editor A Kadir Jasin, who is being investigated under the Sedition Act for a blog article about the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s expenses, sources said.

The statement was recorded by an officer in Bukit Aman this afternoon at an interview which lasted for about an hour, the sources said.

The investigation is being carried out under the Sedition Act, purportedly on 30 reports lodged about his article, the source told FMT.

Kadir gave his full cooperation but reserved the right to answer several questions in court should he be prosecuted, according to the sources.

His lawyer, Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla, later confirmed that he had accompanied Kadir to have his statement recorded.

“Whatever he wrote was for the benefit of the people and the nation under the parliamentary system of democratic governance,” he said.

In the article on June 6, Kadir had claimed that RM257 million had been spent by the federal government for the upkeep and personal expenditure of Sultan Muhammad V in the 16 months since he became the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and that the amount spent showed that the Malay Rulers needed no reassurance that their position was secure.

The article sparked criticism from PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, who said: “To make disparaging remarks without giving the Rulers the opportunity to clarify – that’s not healthy, especially when you use your position, and are seen to be close to people in the government.”

Kadir was then a spokesman for the prime minister’s council of principal advisers, headed by Daim Zainuddin.

He resigned from the position following criticism of his article, which came at a time when the prime minister’s recommendation for appointment of a new attorney-general had not received royal approval -FMT