Zaid Ibrahim acquitted over blog post on Najib

The Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur has acquitted former law minister Zaid Ibrahim over a blog post claiming that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is a danger to the country.

Judge Zaman Mohd Noor ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case because it failed to call Najib to testify in court.

"There is a need to call the victim, (to ask) whether he is annoyed and how he felt.

"The prosecution has failed to establish a prima facie case and the accused is released," Zaman  said.

Zaman made the decision based on the Section 233 (1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, which criminalises the use of the Internet and cause annoyance to "another person."

Although the prosecution argued there was no need to hear Najib’s testimony, the defence insisted that it was necessary for the affected party to testify in court.

In his ruling, Zaman said the term "another person" stipulated in the Act should refer to a specific person or the victim.

Zaid, who is now a DAP member, was accused of uploading offensive content with his posting titled “Rally Behind Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad” on his blog, with the intention of hurting the feelings of others.

The post contains the text of a speech delivered at the Royal Selangor Club, Kuala Lumpur on Sept 2, 2015.

Zaid could face a maximum fine of RM50,000, a year’s jail, or both upon conviction.

[More to follow]

- Mkini