Isma president pleads not guilty to making seditious statement

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KAJANG: Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) president, Abdullah Zaik Abd Rahman yesterday pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here to a charge of issuing a seditious statement on the coming of the Chinese to the then Malay States.

Abdullah Zaik, 48, made the plea after the charge was read to him before Judge Nor Hazani Hamzah.

He was charged with making the seditious statement in four sentences at No 25-1-1, Jalan Medan Pusat Bandar 1A, Bandar Baru Bangi, Section 9, at 10am on May 6.

Abdullah Zaik also pleaded not guilty to an alternative charge of publishing an article titled, “The coming of the Chinese with the British colonialists a form of intrusion” on the Isma website at www.ismaweb.net.

He is alleged to have committed the offence at the same place and on the same date between 3pm and 3.30pm.

The charges were made under Section 4(1)(b) and Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948, and punishable under Section 4(1) of the same act.

If convicted on the first charge, he could face a jail term of up to three years or fined not exceeding RM5,000, or both.

Alternatively, he could face a jail term of up to five years on the other charge.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Manoj Kurup offered the accused RM5,000 bail in one surety.

However, Counsel Haezreene Begum Abdul Hamid who represented Abdullah Zaik, asked the amount be reduced as her client had to support his nine school-going children.

“His job is only as Isma president, which derived income from contributions  through charity work while his wife is a lecturer at Kolej Universiti Islam Antarabangsa,” she said.

However, Judge Nor Hazani retained the bail amount as offered by the DPP in one surety and ordered that Abdullah Zaik’s passport be surrendered to the court. — Bernama