Don’t prosecute Lokman’s brother, AG Chambers urged

PETALING JAYA: The AttorneyGeneral’s Chambers has been urged not to prosecute Umno supreme council member Datuk Lokman Noor Adam’s brother Azman for insulting Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

De facto Law Minister Datuk Liew Vui Keong said the case should not see the light of the day, as Dr Mahathir was not offended by statements made against him.

“It reflects how magnanimous our Prime Minister is.

“As leaders of the country and government ministers, we are sub ject to ridicule and criticism by members of the public,” Liew said in a statement yesterday.

“The only caution is that any statement made against a political leader must not be defamatory, as the law provides recourse for legal action to be taken against the defamer.

“In fact, the law applies to everyone who has been defamed to take legal action,” he added.

Liew said this in response to Azman’s recent detention after he allegedly spread social media images which insulted Dr Mahathir.

Previously, Dr Mahathir had also expressed his disagreement over the action taken against Azman.

“It should not have happened because I don’t think it is going to affect me in any way,” he said.

Liew added that Deputy Home Minister Datuk Mohd Azis Jamman’s statement regarding the issue did not mean that he agreed with retaining the Act.

Liew said the process of repealing the Act was ongoing and the paper would be submitted to the Cabinet soon for consideration.

“There are provisions in the exist ing Act that safeguard the Ruler of the Country, namely the Yang diPertuan Agong, from all forms of seditious attacks.

“As our Constitutional Monarch, we must remain loyal to our King as enshrined in the Rukun Negara,” he said.

In Kota Kinabalu, Mohd Azis said he had asked the InspectorGeneral of Police to brief him on the reason why the Sedition Act was used in the probe, adding that he was shocked by the use of the law.

“The IGP told me he would check with the officer and brief me,” he told reporters after launching the Sabah Job and Entrepreneur Fair.

On his statement defending the police’s use of the Sedition Act, Mohd Azis said he shared the same stand as Pakatan, which was for the Act to be abolished.

“But as long as the government does not abolish it, it’s still a valid law.

“If the police use it, they are not wrong as the law is valid.

“I never said that I agreed with the Sedition Act being used. What I said is that the police action was based on an existing law,” he said.