Undeterred by the sedition charge he faces, Zunar says he will keep drawing his satirical cartoons and criticising the Barisan Nasional-led goverment 'until the last drop' of ink. – The Malaysian Insider pic, April 1, 2015.Cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, better known as Zunar, will be charged with sedition in the Kuala Lumpur High Court this Friday, over his tweet on Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy conviction.
Undeterred by the charge, Zunar said that he would keep drawing his satirical cartoons and criticising the Barisan Nasional-led goverment "until the last drop" of his ink.
"The use of Sedition Act came as no surprise for me as in a corrupt regime, the truth is seditious. Najib's regime is mentally corrupted and morally bankrupted," said Zunar in a statement.
"I would like to reiterate that the use of Sedition Act will not silence me. I will keep exposing the corruptions and wrong-doings of the BN government.
"The 'Fight Through Cartoons' will carry on with more fire. I will keep drawing until the last drop of my ink."
Zunar said his lawyer informed him that the police had served notice to charge him over his tweet.
He had tweeted on February 10: "The lackeys in black robes are proud of their sentences. The reward from political masters must be plenty."
Zunar had been referring to the Federal Court's decision that day to uphold PKR de facto chief Anwar's sodomy verdict and sentence him to five years' jail for sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan in 2008.
The popular cartoonist was arrested hours after his tweet, and spent the night at the Dang Wangi police lock-up.
"The charge will be proceeded on Friday, 3rd of April 2015, 9am at the Kuala Lumpur High Court, Jalan Duta Kuala Lumpur," said Zunar today.
"The charge is under Section 4(1)C of the Sedition Act which carries the maximum penalty of three years in jail, a RM5,000 fine, or both.
"Previously I was arrested and detained for three days for the same case. During the detention, the police also started a separate investigation of my cartoon books, 'Pirate of Carry BN' and 'Conspiracy to Imprison Anwar'."
The charge against Zunar comes after more than 150 people were arrested or investigated in the past two months, mainly over freedom of expression.
Zunar said today he believed the prosecution was part of a "vendetta against cartoons".
Police have raided Zunar's office and confiscated hundreds of copies of his books in the past, while five of his books have been banned by the Home Ministry.
Most recently, the police seized 200 copies of his satirical books on the prime minister's wife ahead of its planned launch in Petaling Jaya on February 14.
On January 28, the police carted away 150 copies of Zunar's books during a raid in his office while he was on a speaking tour in London.
Three of his assistants were also arrested on November 6 last year for selling his books, while the webmaster who managed his website and online bookstore was summoned by the police under the Sedition Act a few days later.
On November 20, Zunar was investigated under the Classified Crime Section, which involves the Pinting Presses and Publications Act, the Sedition Act and the Penal Code.
In September 2010, Zunar was arrested and detained for two days under the Sedition Act.
- TMI
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