Karpal Singh claims trial to sedition

DAP chairman Karpal Singh was charged with sedition at a Sessions Court here Tuesday for saying that a ruler can be sued for his role in the removal of a state’s mentri besar.
Karpal Singh, who represented himself, claimed trial to the charge under Section 4 (1)(b) of the Sedition Act.
He is alleged to have uttered seditious words during a media conference relating to the Sultan of Perak at his office at Messrs Karpal Singh & Co in Jalan Pudu Lama here between noon and 12.30pm on Feb 6.
The prosecution team of Datuk Kamaludin Mohd Said and Hanafiah Zakaria requested for the case to be transferred to the High Court.
The request was granted by Sessions Judge Mohamad Sekeri Mamat after Karpal Singh said he had no objections.
Judge Mohamad Sekeri also allowed a bail of RM2,000 in one surety and granted a request from the prosecution for the High Court to set a date of mention.
Asked why he did not object to the transfer, Karpal said it was a serious case that needed to be heard in the High Court.
“From the High Court, I will have the right to go to the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court. This case will benefit from the authoritative judgement of the highest court, the Federal Court,” he said.
Judge Mohamad Sekeri at one time interrupted the court official when he read the full transcript of the media conference while reading out the charge.
“Just read the ones underlined so the court can save time,” he said.
Karpal objected to this, saying that without reading the proper paragraphs, his words would be taken out of context.
“That is the whole point of having the transcript of what occurred in the press conference,” he said.
The judge then agreed for the transcript to be read out in its entirety.
Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom, Karpal described the charge as “politically motivated.”
“The Government is using it (the Act) as a weapon against its political opponents,” he claimed.
“But I am prepared. There is nothing to fear. What I did was in line with legal principles,” he said.
This is the second time Karpal has been charged under the Act. To date, eight other people have been charged with insulting the Sultan of Perak.