KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 — Provocative artist Fahmi Reza Mohd Zarin is set to be released from police detention today after he was hauled in for investigation over another controversial artwork he posted on his social media accounts.
His lawyer Rajsurian Pillai said a court registrar identified as Fatin Hamim had rejected the police application to remand Fahmi for four days under Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
“After hearing arguments for both sides, she ordered remand for one day only. @kuasasiswa will be released today,” the lawyer tweeted this afternoon, referring to Fahmi by his Twitter handle.
The lawyer also thanked federal police officers at Bukit Aman for their professionalism during the investigation on his client.
Fahmi was called in by Bukit Aman for questioning after posting a picture of a monkey dressed in the regalia often associated with the Malaysian monarchs.
His drawing follows in the wake of another recent high-profile painting owned by Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah of Selangor.
The sultan’s painting depicts MPs from both sides of the parliamentary divide as different species of primates and frogs, but not Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun and his deputies.
“Frog” is a Malaysian euphemism for elected lawmakers who switch parties and political affiliations and is widely in use currently amid public debate over a proposed anti-hopping legislation.
