Controversial blogger Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris accused Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of abusing his power by meddling with the country’s judicial system.
The pro-Perikatan Nasional activist, who goes by Papagomo, said he was shocked after the prosecution in his case requested that bail not be granted and for a gag order.
“I am shocked because I have been labelled with a serious crime when this is just the sedition act, which the current prime minister and government have been calling for decades to abolish.
“But today, we can see, with the power they have now, they are using that power to direct their political enemies to be silenced,” he said in a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex today.
Papagomo was charged with sedition at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today over his social media post on the issue of socks with the word Allah.
He claimed trial to the charge read before judge Siti Aminah Ghazali.
He is facing charges for allegedly making inflammatory statements that bring hatred to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar.
‘Don’t interfere in court matters’
Meanwhile, Papagomo’s lawyer Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali said despite the prosecution’s request, the court granted bail for his client and rejected the gag order request.
The lawyer warned Anwar to refrain from disrespecting the principle of separation of powers.
He cited Anwar’s speech in Putrajaya yesterday about sending criminals to fill the prime minister’s cell in Sungai Buloh prison.
Anwar was incarcerated in Sungai Buloh prison in 2015 after losing his final appeal in his sodomy case. He was released after a royal pardon in 2018.
“Do not interfere in court matters, do not try to interfere in judicial affairs, do not try to become a judge because the judicial system in Malaysia is straightforward since the judges in Malaysia are not involved in politics,” Rafique said.
“The judges in Malaysia make decisions based on facts and laws.”
On Tuesday, Wan Azri was arrested based on a police report lodged against a social media video he posted which questioned Sultan Ibrahim’s meeting with KK Mart founder Chai Kee Kan at the height of the socks controversy.
The allegedly seditious video was posted on the accused’s X account.
The charges were framed under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948, which carries a maximum jail term of three years, a fine of RM5,000, or both. - Mkini
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