PUTRAJAYA, Jan 17 ― The Court of Appeal has fixed April 7 to hear an application by independent speaker Wan Ji Wan Hussin to refer constitutional issues involving the Sedition Act to the Federal Court.

Lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo, representing Wan Ji, confirmed the date when contacted by reporters today.

The hearing had been fixed for today, but was postponed.

In July 2019, Wan Ji was sentenced to one year in prison by the Shah Alam High Court for making remarks that were found to be seditious against the Sultan of Selangor in Facebook posts in 2012.

However, the court allowed his application for a stay of the sentence pending his appeal at the Appeal Court.

He was initially sentenced to nine months in jail by the Sessions Court in April 2018, but it was extended to one year by the Shah Alam High Court when it denied Wan Ji’s appeal against his conviction and sentence.

Wan Ji was charged with making remarks against Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, as well as other religious issues via his Facebook account wanji.attaaduddi on Sept 10, 2014.

He was charged with committing the offence at the Selangor State Secretary Housing Office, 5th Floor, Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Building, Section 5 in Shah Alam at 10 am on Nov 5, 2012.

The charge, under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948, carries a fine not exceeding RM5,000 or a jail term of up to three years or both. ― Bernama