Chegu Bard pleads not guilty to making sedition remarks

Badrul Hisham, 45, pleaded not guilty after the charge was read before Judge Rasidah Roslee.

He is accused of making seditious remarks on his Facebook account under the name 'Che GuBard' at Mutiara Villa Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur at 6.30 pm, on April 26.

The charge is framed under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948 (Act 15) which provides a maximum fine of RM5,000 or imprisonment not exceeding three years or both, if found guilty.

Deputy public prosecutors Datuk Masri Mohd Daud, Abdul Ghafar Ab Latif, Abdul Malik Ayob and Nadia Mohd Izhar appeared for the prosecution while Badrul Hisham was represented by Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali.

Also present was Pasir Gudang Member of Parliament Hassan Abdul Karim to hold a watching brief.

Earlier, Masri offered bail of RM20,000 in one surety in addition to applying for a gag order so that both parties would not issue any comments or public statements on any social media platform until the disposal of the case.

However, Muhammad Rafique requested a lower bail on the grounds that his client supports his wife and four children including one with disabilities and only the client's wife is currently working.

Muhammad Rafique also said that the RM20,000 bail offered by the prosecution is high compared with the RM5,000 penalty provided under the Sedition Act.

"The client has also been accused of the same offence at the Kuala Lumpur Section Court with bail set at RM10,000 in one surety.

"The gag order applied by the prosecution is not specific and is unconstitutional as according to Article 10, Malaysians have the freedom to discuss matters openly according to the law," said the lawyer.

The accused then allowed bail of RM10,000 in one surety and the court rejected the gag order applied by the prosecution.

The court also set June 24 for re-mention.

Yesterday, Badrul Hisham was charged in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court with two counts of inciting and issuing defamatory remarks that would tarnish the good name of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia.

He, however, pleaded not guilty after the two charges were read before Judge Siti Aminah Ghazali.

-- BERNAMA