The Sun (Malaysia)

NIZAR ACQUITTED AFTER APOLOGY TO NAJIB

> Former Perak MB charged with defaming PM at 2012 ceramah acquitted

- BY P. CHANDRA SAGARAN newsdesk@thesundail­y.com

IPOH: The sessions court yesterday acquitted and discharged former Perak mentri besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin ( pix) after he tendered an open apology to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak for making a disparagin­g remark against the PM during a ceramah here in 2012.

Sessions judge Ikmal Hisham Mohd Tajuddin freed the Changkat Jering assemblyma­n after he read out the apology letter in court.

In the letter, he said “based on the remarks against the prime minister ... it is baseless. I sincerely apologise to him. I will be cautious with my remarks”.

Earlier, DPP Yusaini Amer Abdul Karim told the court the prosecutio­n had received an applicatio­n from Nizar’s lead counsel Datuk Yusof Zainal Abiden to compound the case under Section 260 of the Criminal Procedure Court through a letter dated Oct 22, which was also sent to Najib. The letter had been accepted and the case was compounded with an open apology under Section 260 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

In January this year, Mohammad Nizar was charged under Section 500 of the Penal Code which carries a maximum jail term of two years or a fine or both.

He risked being disqualifi­ed from office if fined more than RM2,000 or a jail term of more than a year. Mohammad Nizar, who helmed the state for 11 months after the 2008 general election, had told the audience at the ceramah that he was informed that Najib had asked army generals to do something if the Barisan Nasional loses in the 2013 polls.

The offence was committed at the ceramah at Taman Desa Pakatan in Ipoh between 9pm and midnight on April 23, 2012.

The same court had previously discharged him not amounting to acquittal on a similar charge, due to technical issues.

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