KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 ― Constitutional law expert Dr Abdul Aziz Bari said today that he was not afraid of an impending sedition investigation against him over his comments on the recent Selangor mentri besar crisis.

Abdul Aziz said he was merely giving his opinion in response to questions at a forum on whether the Sultan of Selangor has absolute powers to select a mentri besar for the state.

“I don’t think I was committing a crime,” Abdul Aziz told reporters at the sidelines of a forum on non-discrimination organised by Komas and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Institute of Ethnic Studies here today.

“I never suggested the abolition of the rulers’ powers,” added the University of Selangor lecturer.

He pointed out that delegates at Umno’s general assembly in 1991 had suggested removing the ruler’s powers to appoint the mentri besar after the Barisan Nasional (BN) party lost Kelantan in the 1990 general election.

No action was taken over the call from Umno then.

“It’s a question of selective prosecution over here,” said Abdul Aziz, noting the discrepancy in the police’s response.

Abdul Aziz said the police have requested for him to be to at the Sabak Bernam police headquarters tomorrow morning.

The law professor said the police did not inform him what he would be interviewed about, but noted that the police reports lodged against him had accused him of making seditious remarks.

News portal The Malaysian Insider reported that Abdul Aziz’s contentious remarks were found in two articles it published, which are “‎Sultan Selangor terikat Deklarasi 1992, perlu lantik Wan Azizah, kata Aziz Bari” dated September 1, and “Only God, not Sultan, has absolute powers, says legal expert” dated September 9.

Abdul Aziz repeated today that “no one on the face of this world has absolute power”.

He also noted that he was previously investigated for sedition back in 2011 over his criticism of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah’s actions in the Selangor Islamic authorities’ raid against the Damansara Utama Methodist Church.

“I’ve got a duty. I’ve got a job to do,” said the constitutional expert.

“As a person privileged to have this knowledge, it’s only fair to share with my fellow countrymen on what I have. Scared or not, that’s not an issue to me,” Abdul Aziz added.

Abdul Aziz is the latest individual to be caught in the government’s ongoing sedition crackdown that has seen at least 20 people either investigated or charged under the colonial-era law that Putrajaya maintains it will repeal.