KUALA LUMPUR: Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin maintained his not guilty plea at the High Court here Tuesday (Feb 4) to a charge of uttering seditious remarks during the campaign for the Nenggiri by-election in Kelantan last August.
The 77-year-old former prime minister entered the plea after the charge was read to him before Judge Muhammad Jamil Hussin.
The case was initially mentioned at the Gua Musang Sessions Court in Kota Bharu on Aug 27 last year and was later transferred to the Kuala Lumpur High Court following a defence application.
The Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman is charged with making the seditious remarks in an open area near Dewan Semai Bakti Felda Perasu between 10.30pm and 11.50pm on Aug 14, 2024.
The alleged seditious remarks concerned his claim that he was not invited by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to be sworn in as prime minister following the 15th General Election, despite allegedly having the support of 115 out of 222 Members of Parliament at that time.
He is charged under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act 1948, which is punishable under Subsection 4(1) of the same Act with a maximum fine of RM5,000 or a maximum imprisonment of three years, or both, if convicted.
The prosecution is handled by Deputy Public Prosecutor Azlina Rasdi, while counsel Amer Hamzah Arshad represented Muhyiddin.
Earlier, Amer Hamzah informed the court that they would be applying to refer a legal question to the Federal Court under Section 84 of the Judiciary Act 1964 concerning the sedition charge his client is facing.
The court then set March 6 for case mention to hand over documents and maintained the RM5,000 bail set by the Gua Musang Sessions Court previously. - Bernama
