KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 ― University of Malaya (UM) law lecturer Assoc Prof Dr Azmi Sharom was charged today for making an allegedly seditious claim that the events during the 2009 Perak constitutional crisis was “legally wrong”.
In a packed courtroom here, Azmi pleaded not guilty when the charges under Section 4(1)(b) and Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948 were read out to him.
The offence under Section 4(1)(b) is for those who utter any seditious words, while Section 4(1)(c) is an offence committed by an individual who publishes or reproduces seditious publications, among other things.
If convicted under either the first charge or alternative charge, Azmi will face a maximum fine of RM5,000 or a maximum jail term of three years or both.
Azmi will be released on a RM5,000 bail and his case will come up for case management before Sessions Court judge Zainol Rashid Hussain on October 3.
The law lecturer was previously probed by the police for his quotes in a Malay Mail Online article published on August 14 and titled, “Take Perak crisis route for speedy end to Selangor impasse, Pakatan told”.
In it, Azmi had cautioned Pakatan Rakyat (PR) against taking any action outside the Selangor state assembly to resolve the ongoing impasse over the Selangor mentri besar’s post, and insisted the lawmakers wait until next sitting to indicate their lack of confidence.
He is the first academic to be charged following a string of cases where opposition politicians were hauled to court in recent weeks for alleged sedition.
The courtroom was packed to the rafters today with reporters and those who had turned up to observe and show support for Azmi.
Among those spotted were UM students and academic staff, Bar Council vice-president Steven Thiru and Bar Council’s National Young Lawyers Committee chairman Syahredzan Johan, and activists such as Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir, Ivy Josiah and Haris Ibrahim.
