BUKIT MERTAJAM: A representation submitted by Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh’s lawyers in December 2025 seeking to have a charge under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code dropped has been rejected by the Penang state prosecution director, Sinar Harian reports.
The Umno Youth chief's lead counsel Aizat Azam told the Malay language daily that the defence had applied at a Bukit Mertajam Magistrate’s Court on Monday (Oct 26) to submit a second representation to the Attorney General, setting out facts, views and legal arguments concerning the case.
He said the first representation was submitted about 10 months ago, with the rejection conveyed during the case mention on Monday.
“We will submit another representation to the Attorney General after this,” he said when met outside the Bukit Mertajam Court Complex on Monday.
Aizat said the case had been ongoing for more than a year, but no trial date had been fixed as the defence was still seeking a decision on the representation.
He added that the defence was awaiting the Attorney General’s decision on whether the case would proceed to trial.
In August last year, Muhamad Akmal, 38, pleaded not guilty at the same court to a charge of making a statement causing public alarm.
According to the charge, he allegedly made the statement on the Akmal Saleh Facebook page, which was said to have caused public alarm that could induce a person to commit an offence against public order.
He was charged under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code.
The offence was allegedly committed at 3pm on Aug 11, 2025.
Magistrate Nurul Rasyidah Mohd Akit previously granted Muhamad Akmal bail of RM5,000 with one surety.
Meanwhile, Aizat said Akmal’s legal team had also filed a judicial review application against the Attorney General concerning the latter’s authority to prosecute his client.
“To date, the judicial review is still at the case management stage.
“Tomorrow, we will attend online case management at the Penang High Court and inform the court that we require another date while awaiting the outcome of the second representation to be submitted to the Attorney General,” he told Sinar Harian.
Earlier, the court fixed Jan 4, 2027, for the decision on the defence’s second representation.
The prosecution was led by Penang state prosecution director Muna Mohamed Jaafar before Magistrate Roshayati Radellah.
Muhamad Akmal was represented by 10 lawyers, including Aizat, Syahrul Syazwan Salehin, Hafiz Norkhan, Datuk Mohd Imran Tamrin, Syafiq Bahtiar, Zaki Shah, Fazreen Izuan and Shakeel Saifuzzaman.
He arrived at the court complex at 9am, accompanied by his wife, Datin Dr Fatin Nadhirah Idrus, and several Penang Umno Youth members, including its chief Mohd Hilmi Elias.
In August last year, Muhamad Akmal led 500 Umno, Bersatu and PAS supporters in a 1.4km march in Bertam, Kepala Batas, as a mark of respect for the Jalur Gemilang following an incident in which the national flag was displayed upside down at a hardware store.
He was subsequently called to give a statement at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters over the gathering.
