KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 ― The provocative Facebook page called “Sabah-Sarawak Merdeka” is under investigation for sedition, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun said today.
The national police chief added that a total of 91 complaints as at yesterday have been filed over the social media account over its disturbing and rude posts belittling Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah of Pahang.
“The case is being investigated under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act, in which it is an offence for anyone that does an act that has a seditious tendency,” he said in a media statement.
The punishment for such an offence is jail up to three years or a maximum RM5,000 fine or both.
“The public is advised not to misuse social media or any communication network to cause any form of provocation that can threaten public order and harmony,” he added.
The Facebook account has been deactivated at the time of writing. The page remained active yesterday, with several new posts, featuring doctored images of Sultan Abdullah with a rope around the neck and contemptuous captions in Malay.
The page was brought to media notice two nights ago when a picture of Sultan Abdullah was edited depicting the Agong in a neon green mankini accompanied by an insulting caption.
Yesterday, Umno was also forced to publicly announce deny ties to the Sabah-Sarawak Merdeka Facebook page, after the latter listed the telephone number of the federal Opposition party’s headquarters as its contact.
Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin directed the police to investigate the account yesterday.
The Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission under the Communications and Multimedia Ministry headed by Gobind Singh Deo launched a separate probe yesterday on the Facebook page for improper use of network facilities and services.
