KUALA LUMPUR, June 18 — Two current ministers have been criticised by a former minister over the police investigation into a tweet by DAP’s Hannah Yeoh concerning child marriage.

Former minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said the probe is setting a bad precedent.

"It is bad precedent and (will) open ‘Unnecessary’ floodgates to question MPs/ADUNs for expressing their views on Twitter,” she said in a Tweet.

Azalina tagged Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin and Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah in her Tweet.

The former minister, who supports the banning of child marriages, joins former deputy prime minister and women, family and community development minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail in defending Yeoh.

On Tuesday, Yeoh, who is Segambut MP and former deputy women, family and community development minister, said on Twitter that she had been called up by Bukit Aman over her tweet in which she expressed concern over the national roadmap to combat child marriage under the Perikatan Nasional government.

Her tweet, dated to March 9, questioned what would happen to the roadmap under her ministerial successor, PAS’ Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff.

It was later confirmed by the police that Yeoh is being investigated under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.