KUALA LUMPUR, April 4 — Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) Youth vice-chief Shazni Munir Mohd Ithnin has been detained for questioning over allegedly seditious remarks he issued in the media last week, DAP MP Lim Lip Eng said.
Lim, who is also Shazni’s lawyer, confirmed with Malay Mail Online that the youth leader is currently at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters recording his statement.
“He has been arrested. I’m with him now,” the Segambut MP said.
Lim said Shazni was arrested at 3pm today by officers from the D5 division in Bukit Aman.
The DAP lawmaker said that Shazni will be detained for 24 hours but was unsure if the remand would be extended.
Lim added that Shazni was currently being investigated under Section 4 of the Sedition Act 1948 for uttering allegedly seditious remarks that were later published in a news portal.
On his Twitter page later, the MP said Shazni is being investigated under Section 124C of the Penal Code and Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act.
Section 124C of the Penal Code is on the “attempt to commit activity detrimental to parliamentary democracy”, which prescribes a maximum 15-year jail term.
Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act, on the other hand, prescribes a maximum RM5,000 fine and maximum three-year jail term for first-time offenders who commit sedition.
In response to his arrest, Shazni lodged a police report at the Dang Wangi station claiming that the news article posted was false and the statement quoted was not by him.
“He made this report after he was arrested at Balai Dang Wangi,” Lim told Malay Mail Online while providing a screenshot of the report.
On Saturday, Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar took to the microblogging site to order the police cyber crime unit to investigate Shazni’s remarks on toppling the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration.
The youth leader’s remarks were first published in an article on the Bicara News website, which was later republished in Malaysia Today.
Shazni, however, has since reportedly denied making the statement to the news portal.
A group of youths are also planning on holding a solidarity gathering tonight at 8pm outside of Dang Wangi to condemn the arrest.
