KAJANG, Dec 22 — The sedition trial of Abdullah Zaik Abd Rahman who heads Islamist group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) was postponed at the Sessions Court here a second time today.

The postponement is pending the Federal Court’s decision in another related case regarding the constitutionality of the controversial Sedition Act 1948, raised by academic Assoc Prof Dr Azmi Sharom in the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

Justice Noridah Adam has set March 3 to hear the case management for Abdullah’s case.

Both the Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohamad Mohd Mukhzany Fariz Mohd Mokthtar and Abdullah’s lawyer Zainal Narudin agreed to the postponement.

On September 17, Universiti Malaya law lecturer Azmi, who was charged with sedition, applied to challenge the constitutionality of the Sedition Act as the colonial era legislation was not enacted by Parliament.

The KL High Court then referred the case to the Federal Court so that the country’s highest court can decide “once and for all” the constitutionality of the Sedition Act.”

On September 2, Azmi was charged under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act 1948 at a Sessions Court for a remark he made in an article published on Malay Mail Online. The law lecturer pleaded not guilty to the charge.

If convicted, he will face a maximum fine of RM5,000 or be jailed up to three years, or both.

The Federal Court will now hear whether Section 4(1) is inconsistent with Article 10(2) of the Constitution, which allows only Parliament to impose legal restrictions on the right of freedom of speech conferred under Article 10.

The court will also hear whether the Sedition Act itself is valid and constitutional.

On May 6, Abdullah wrote on Isma’s website that the influx of Chinese migrants into Tanah Melayu had been “a mistake” which must be rectified.

He said that the ethnic group were considered intruders into Malay land, and had been brought by British colonialists to oppress Malays.

Infuriated by the remarks, lawmakers from both DAP and MCA filed police reports against the group.

The Islamist activist group has been raising its public profile over the past one year with its provocative remarks against Malaysia’s racial and religious minorities.