PETALING JAYA: The unity government is reneging on its promises of reform and is instead using legal instruments to pressure its political opponents, says Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
“This is clearly against the ‘reformasi’ promises, which included abolishing the Sedition Act,” the Perikatan Nasional chairman said.
Muhyiddin, who was commenting on the sedition charges against Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, said he sympathised with the caretaker Kedah Mentri Besar.
“I want to stress that Perikatan’s main principles and policies are to uphold the sovereignty of the Malay Rulers,” said the former prime minister. “I pray that my friend Muhammad Sanusi will get justice in court.
Muhammad Sanusi is facing two charges under the Sedition Act 1948 over a political speech on July 11, which was deemed to be critical of the Selangor royal house.
There have also been criticisms of Muhammad Sanusi’s arrest at 3am on July 18. Police said it was because the Mentri Besar did not answer multiple phone calls.
Meanwhile, Pakatan Harapan information chief Fahmi Fadzil said Muhammad Sanusi’s case should not be compared with the arrest of then deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in 1998.
The Communications and Digital Minister said a more accurate comparison would be the detention of a man in his 60s for allegedly insulting Muhammad Sanusi in 2021.
“The man was also detained between 3am and 4am,” said Fahmi.
In August 2021, a 61-year-old man who went by the name “Tok Abah ‘’ was arrested in Lenggeng, Negri Sembilan over a Facebook post berating Muhammad Sanusi.
He was taken to Sungai Petani for investigations for “insulting” Muhammad Sanusi over his comment to the media asking them to “sign up to get into containers for the Covid-19 dead”.
Fahmi said Muhammad Sanusi’s arrest should also be a lesson that there are boundaries on what can be said about the royal institution.
