E-Paper
Malaysian-Indian leader found guilty of sedition
A Malaysian-Indian opposition leader was on Friday found guilty of sedition by a court for questioning the decision of the sultan of an eastern state five years ago.
A Malaysian-Indian opposition leader was on Friday found guilty of sedition by a court for questioning the decision of the sultan of an eastern state five years ago.
Lawyer and opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman Karpal Singh had allegedly questioned the removal of Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin as Perak state chief minister by the Sultan of Perak.
Justice Azman Abdullah gave his ruling after finding that Singh had failed to prove reasonable doubt against his case.
Singh, a 73-year-old outspoken, wheelchair-bound politician, was found guilty of insulting the Sultan of Perak in 2009. The court fixed March 7 for sentencing and mitigation.
But Singh called the case against him unfair and criticised the Sedition Act as a "relic". He faces up to three years in prison, if convicted under the act.
He was alleged to have said that the removal of Mohammad Nizar as chief minister by the Sultan could be questioned in a court of law.
Malaysia forbids criticism of its revered ethnic-Malay Islamic royals.
Singh plans to appeal against his conviction, which sparked an outcry against the government's use of the decades-old Sedition Act.
