Malay Indian MP charged with sedition

Kuala Lumpur, Mar 17 (ANI): A Malaysian opposition leader has been charged with sedition for allegedly insulting a royal figure.

Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman Karpal Singh, who represented himself, pleaded innocent to the charge of insulting Sultan Azlan Shah of the Perak state.

According to The Star, Singh was served with a notice to present himself at the courts in Jalan Duta hours after his son and MP Gobind Singh Deo was suspended from Parliament for a year for alleging that the Deputy Prime Minister, Najib Razak, was involved in a murder case.

Singh had allegedly threatened to sue the Sultan Azlan Shah of Perak for acting beyond his powers and consenting to the appointment of a new Perak Mentri Besar.

Under Malaysian law, any act that provokes hatred, contempt or disaffection against a state ruler is considered sedition.

The crime carries a maximum sentence of three years. (ANI)