Wan Ji fails to refer constitutional issues of sedition charges to Federal Court

 The Court of Appeal today dismissed an application by independent speaker Wan Ji Wan Hussin to refer constitutional issues of his sedition charges at the Federal Court.

A panel of three judges led by Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera dismissed the application after unanimously allowing the prosecution's preliminary objection.

In the judgment, Vazeer Alam said the court agreed with the objection raised by the prosecution that the Court of Appeal had no jurisdiction to refer legal questions to the Federal Court.

"Any legal question can be raised during the appeal hearing in the case later. Therefore, the application (by Wan Ji) is dismissed,” said Vazeer Alam, who was sitting with Azman Abdullah and Azmi Ariffin.

Earlier, lawyer Muhammad Faiz Fadzil, representing Wan Ji, requested the court to allow his client's application to refer legal questions related to the charges facing him to the Federal Court

Deputy public prosecutor How May Ling objected to the application on the grounds that the Court of Appeal has jurisdiction to hear appeals, but no jurisdiction to refer questions of law to the Federal Court.

"The legal issue was not raised at the High Court nor was the application to refer it to the Federal Court," she added.

The court then set Sept 25 to hear Wan Ji's appeal against the one-year prison sentence imposed by the Shah Alam High Court in July 2019 after allowing the prosecution's cross-appeal to increase the nine-month prison sentence handed down by the Shah Alam Sessions Court on April 9, 2018.

However, the court allowed an application by Wan Ji to stay the execution of the prison sentence pending the disposal of his appeal at the Court of Appeal.

Wan Ji, 41, was found guilty of making remarks that were found to be seditious against the sultan of Selangor, as well as on religious issues, via his Facebook account, wanji.attaaduddi.

He was charged with committing the offence at the Selangor State Secretary Housing Office, 5th Floor, Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Building, Section 5 in Shah Alam at 10am on Nov 5, 2012.

The charge, under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948, carries a fine not exceeding RM5,000 or a jail term of up to three years or both for the first offence and a maximum imprisonment of five years for the second and subsequent offences if found guilty.

- Bernama