KUALA LUMPUR: Padang Serai Member of Parliament N. Surendran, who has been charged with sedition in the Sessions Court, has applied for the court to refer to the High Court on the constitutionality of the Sedition Act 1948.
The application was filed yesterday at the Sessions Court registry through the legal firm Messrs. Daim & Gamany.
Judge Zainol Rashid Hussain set Oct 14 to hear the application.
In the application, Surendran, 48, is seeking the Sessions Court to refer to the High Court on constitutional issues based on Article 10, 8 and 5 of the Federal Constitution on freedom of speech.
He is also seeking to postpone proceeding of his sedition case at the Sessions Court pending the disposal of the application.
On Aug 19 this year, Surendran had pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court to a charge of publishing a seditious item on the Appeal Court’s judgment in opposition leader Datuk
Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy case.
He is charged with publishing an article with the title ‘Press Release: Court of Appeal’s Fitnah 2, Written Judgment is Flawed, Defensive and Insupportable’ at the office of Malaysiakini.com at No. 48, Jalan Kemuja, Bangsar Utama here, at 3.40 pm last April 18.
The charge, under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948, carries a fine of up to RM5,000 or jail term of up to three years or both, if found guilty, and for subsequent offences, a maximum imprisonment of five years. — Bernama