Chegu Bard files appeal against gag order in ongoing defamation and sedition case

KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 — Bersatu Information Committee member Badrul Hisham Shaharin or Chegu Bard has filed an appeal to the Court of Appeal against the gag order issued by two High Courts to restrain him from issuing any statements or comments on his ongoing defamation and sedition case.

His lawyer, Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali, said the appeal was filed last May 23.

“We want to get instructions from the Court of Appeal whether the decisions by the High Courts in Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur High Courts are right or not in terms of law because, in our opinion, although the freedom of speech is not absolute, it must give enough space to an accused person,” he told a media conference at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex here today.

Earlier, during the proceeding before Sessions Court Judge Siti Aminah Ghazali today, the court fixed July 11 for case management of Badrul Hisham’s case on two counts of inciting and issuing defamatory remarks that would tarnish the good name of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia.

On May 14, the Kuala Lumpur High Court issued a gag order against Chegu Bard to prevent him from issuing any statements or comments on his ongoing criminal defamation case, while the Johor Bahru High Court issued a similar order on May 20.

On April 29 this year, Badrul Hisham, 45, pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here to publishing a seditious publication on his Facebook page in Taman Bukit Cheras here, at 12.15 pm on April 6.

He was also charged with issuing defamatory statements, with reason to believe that the defamatory statements would damage the good name of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

The offence was allegedly committed at the Office of the Comptroller of Istana Negara here at 6pm last January 22.

The charge was framed under Section 500 of the Penal Code which provides imprisonment for up to two years or a fine or both, if convicted.

On April 30, he pleaded not guilty in the Johor Bahru Sessions Court to a charge of issuing seditious remarks related to the casino project in Forest City.

He was alleged to have made the 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, framed under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948 (Act 15), provides a maximum fine of RM5,000 or imprisonment not exceeding three years or both, if found guilty. — Bernama