Transport Minister Anthony Loke’s political secretary has lodged a police report against former Bersatu division leader Badrul Hisham Shaharin over a social media post linked to the ongoing Negeri Sembilan royal dispute, which also triggered a political crisis.
Ho Weng Wah claimed that Badrul’s social media post contained defamatory statements against the minister, who is also the DAP secretary-general and Seremban MP.
“The post contains allegations that Loke had channelled a large amount of funding to an entity alleged to be illegal, and linked the matter to disruptions involving royal institutions in the state.
“The statements and posts made by the individual are also believed to touch on sensitive 3R issues (race, religion, and royalty), which could potentially trigger tensions and divide the community,” Ho was quoted as saying after lodging the report at the Seremban district police headquarters.
He said the police should investigate the post, which is believed to have violated several legal provisions, including Sections 505 and 499 of the Penal Code as well as Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
Funds to ‘illegal entity’
In his post, Badrul, better known as Chegubard, urged the authorities to investigate Loke over claims that the minister and several government agencies channelled “hundreds of thousands of ringgit to an illegal entity known as the Council of Dato’ Lembaga Adat for Sungai Ujong”.
On April 22, the office of the disputed Sungai Ujong chieftain, Mubarak Thahak, claimed that the nobles who sought his removal had themselves been dismissed earlier for alleged corruption and power abuse involving government funds.
The nobles had allegedly formed a “Council of Dato’ Lembaga Adat for Sungai Ujong” without Mubarak’s knowledge and permission, which they then allegedly used as a vehicle to seek funding.
The funds allegedly include over RM160,000 from the Negeri Sembilan Museum Board, disbursed between 2019 and 2024, and RM10,000 from the office of the Seremban MP and Chennah assemblyperson (Loke) in 2023.
According to Mubarak’s office, the chieftain only knew about the matter when they were contacted by Loke’s aide, who sought a financial report to justify the RM10,000.
The statement came amid a controversial power struggle in Negeri Sembilan, where the state’s four territorial chieftains invoked their authority to sack Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir as ruler and replace him with another member of the Negeri Sembilan royal family.
This was after the Negeri Sembilan Council of the Yang di-Pertuan Besar and the Ruling Chiefs, which Tuanku Muhriz chaired, authorised the disputed Sungai Ujong nobles’ decision to sack Mubarak. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.