Offensive remarks: Bailiffs escorting Zaidi out of the Sessions Court in Johor Baru.
JOHOR BARU: A petty trader was fined RM3,000 in default six months’ jail after he pleaded guilty in the Sessions Court here to posting inflammatory and disrespectful statements about the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on social media.
Zaidi Mat Sah, 56, was charged with uploading the post on social media platform X that was seditious in nature, disrespecting the King and tarnishing the image of the royal institution.
According to the statement of facts, the act was committed at a house in Jalan Sutera Kuning 2, Taman Sutera here, on Dec 29, 2024.
It was done via an X account under the username BitZ @zatocent.
The following day, a report was lodged at the Seri Alam police station by a complainant.
This led to a police team arresting Zaidi. A mobile phone with a SIM card, believed to have been used to access the X account, was seized.
Forensic analysis of the phone confirmed that the BitZ @zatocent X account belonged to Zaidi.
Further intelligence and social media analysis by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission corroborated the findings and verified the ownership of the account.
The charge against Zaidi was framed under Section 4(1)(a) of the Sedition Act, which carries a fine of up to RM5,000, a maximum three-year prison sentence or both, upon conviction.
Yesterday’s court case was handled by Johor state prosecution director Abdul Ghafar Abd Latif while Zaidi was not represented.
Abdul Ghafar requested a heavier penalty due to the severity of the action and as a lesson not only to Zaidi but also to other members of the public.
Zaidi, in mitigation, hoped that he would not be jailed, as he has to take care of his wife, a child, an elderly mother and a disabled sibling.
“I am sorry for my mistake; I was not the one who created the post but only reposted the statement. I was not aware that the statement involved 3R sentiments, and I regretted my action,” he said, referring to race, religion and royalty.
Zaidi paid the fine imposed by judge Hazeelia Muhammad.
