JOHOR BARU: A day after he was charged at a court in Kuala Lumpur, Bersatu information committee member Badrul Hisham Shaharin claimed trial at the Sessions Court here to a charge of making seditious remarks against His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia.
The 45-year-old, better known as Chegubard, pleaded not guilty after the charge was read out to him in front of Sessions Judge Rasidah Roslee here yesterday.
According to the charge sheet, Badrul Hisham was alleged to have made seditious remarks on his Facebook page at Bukit Bintang in Kuala Lumpur at 6.30pm on April 26, regarding reports on discussions about a casino in Forest City.
He was charged under Paragraph 4 (1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948 (Act 15) and can be sentenced under Subsection 4(1) of the same Act.
The offence carries a fine of not more than RM5,000 or imprisonment of not more than three years or both upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutors Datuk Masri Mohd Daud, Abdul Ghafar Ab Latif, Abdul Malik Ayob and Nadia Mohd Izhar appeared for the prosecution while Badrul Hisham was represented by Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali.
During the proceeding, Masri offered bail at RM20,000 with one surety.
“The prosecution is also requesting a gag order so that both parties do not issue any comments or public statements on any social media platform until the disposal of the case.
“This is necessary to ensure that the course of the case is not interrupted, in addition to maintaining public order and avoiding provocative comments that will worsen the situation,” he said.
Rasidah, however, rejected the prosecution’s request for the gag order, set June 24 for case management, and allowed RM10,000 bail.
Pasir Gudang PKR MP and lawyer Hassan Abdul Karim was in court before the charges were read, to lend his support to Badrul Hisham.
At a press conference later, Badrul Hisham thanked his supporters for their donations that allowed him to post bail.
“I would like to thank Hassan for coming as his presence was never planned.
“At least one person in PKR (Hassan) still has his principles,” he said, adding that it was Pakatan Harapan that had promised to repeal the Sedition Act in its general election manifesto in 2022.
When contacted later, Hassan said he was in court to show his support for Badrul Hisham, who was a “long-time friend”.
“I’ve known him since the Reformasi era. Even though we are now in different political parties, a friend is still a friend.
“My stand on the Sedition Act is well known as I had once been charged under it.
“As a lawmaker, I call upon the government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to repeal it and introduce a new law that can safeguard public peace in our country,” Hassan said.
On Tuesday, Badrul Hisham was charged in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court with two counts of inciting and issuing defamatory remarks that would tarnish the good name of the King of Malaysia.
He pleaded not guilty.
