KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 21 ― Former journalist Sidek Kamiso said he and his family will be visiting a psychologist tomorrow after the police raided his home in the wee hours of the morning over an alleged insulting tweet.

Sidek told news portal Malaysiakini that the raid at 4.30am Monday in his Petaling Jaya home had startled his 14-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son, besides frightening a friend’s 12-year-old son who was sleeping over.

"We are going to see a psychologist on Thursday to assess the situation. If it was traumatic for me, what more for the children?” Sidek was quoted saying.

"Even now I can't sleep, just slight noises will startle me. This morning our cleaner switched on the vacuum cleaner and it immediately reminded me of that episode,” he added, relating how the police "kept vacuuming” in front of his cell in a police station on Jalan Semarak here, where he was placed handcuffed with a prayer mat and a bottle of water before he was taken to Johor Baru.

"They started doing it the moment I was put in the cell, it felt like forever, definitely more than 30 minutes,” said Sidek.

Sidek, Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi, and two others from Shah Alam and Ipoh are under investigation over their alleged social media posts on the recent death of PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Dr Haron Din.

Ooi is being investigated under Section 298 of the Penal Code that criminalises wounding one’s religious feelings, while Sidek and the other two are reportedly probed under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) 1998 that criminalises offensive online comments.

Sidek claimed the police had tried to enter his children’s room, but his wife had stopped them from doing so.

He reportedly said the police asked him about his religious and political beliefs when they arrested him.

"They asked me whether I changed my ‘mazhab’ (Islamic school of thought)... whether I voted for this party, and this and that. They asked all kinds of questions to rile me up,” Sidek was quoted saying.

He added that the police in Johor Baru also questioned him about his religious beliefs.

"One of the handling officers was very harsh, and lectured me about Islam for a good 10 minutes, and I just listened,” he was quoted saying.

The magistrate’s court in Johor Baru rejected Monday the police’s application to remand Sidek and the suspect from Shah Alam, both of whom were arrested over their tweets.

However, the suspect from Ipoh, a businessman, was reportedly remanded yesterday for three days over alleged Facebook comments on Haron’s death.