KUALA LUMPUR, May 10 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today reminded those in public office not to infringe on the rights of others if they were not being defamed, saying the constitution guarantees Malaysians the right to free speech, including criticising their leaders.

The prime minister was responding to the arrest of a known critic of Tengku Mahkota Johor Tunku Ismail Ibrahim and editor-in-chief of Malay online magazine Neon Berapi Firdaus Abdillah Hamzah, more popularly known by his online persona Pipiyapong.

“As I have pointed out earlier, no leader in Malaysia is free from criticism.

“The people are free to criticise leaders if necessary. Freedom of speech is important in a democracy. Except for threats, defamation, or contempt of the rulers, any leader can be criticised without infringing the right of the people to speak out,” Dr Mahathir said in a series of tweets today.

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Firdaus was arrested by the police and taken to the Tampoi police station yesterday, believed over a post linked to the Johor crown prince.

The writer shot to fame initially as a contributor to football blog Sokernet which is popular among the Malay community for its football commentaries.

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Dr Mahathir’s remarks came amid a strained relationship with the Johor crown prince, with the two trading pot-shots at each other recently.

The row between the two men deepened following the resignation of Datuk Osman Sapian as the state mentri besar and Putrajaya’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute which led to a public tiff on the powers of state rulers as enshrined in the Federal Constitution.

Last month, Tunku Ismail told outsiders to stay out of Johor’s affairs and even stated that the people needed to change the prime minister.

Recently, Dr Mahathir called Tunku Ismail a “little boy” and said that he should not talk publicly about matters when he may not have full knowledge about them.