DAP vice-chairperson Teresa Kok was today charged with sedition for her Chinese New Year satire video titled "Onederful Malaysia". The Seputeh MP claimed trial.

The sessions court in Kuala Lumpur then set bail at RM4,000 on one surety.

Kok was charged under Section 4(1) (C) of the Sedition Act 1948 for uploading a video titled "Teresa Kok: Onederful Malaysia CNY 2014" on YouTube at 9am on Feb 1, this year.

The court interpreter also read out parts of the video which contained Malay subtitles that were allegedly seditious.

In the 11-minute Mandarin clip, Kok plays a talk show host who interviews a panel of experts on what to expect in the Year of the Horse.

She has been accused of insulting Malays, Islam, the monarchy, the security forces, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his wife, Rosmah Mansor.

As the video went viral, Kok received a barrage of insults and hundreds of police reports were lodged against her.

In the 10-page charge sheet, a full version of the transcript in Malay was attached, with underlined parts marked as seditious content.

Among the topics in question were a conversation between Kok and other actors on Malaysia being chosen as the sixth most dangerous country in the world, security problems in Sabah, and Bersih ralliers being assaulted and also being charged in court.

Sessions judge Norsharidah Awang fixed June 9 for case management and Sept 2 for the hearing.

 

'Politically motivated'

Clad in a red baju kurung, Kok described the prosecution against her as a “politically motivated”.

 

“The charge against me shows that the government is stepping up its campaign to weaken and cripple Pakatan via court prosecution,” she told a press conference after being bailed out.

 

Kok said the government had first charged PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim ( right ) for sodomy, then the late former DAP chairperson Karpal Singh for sedition, despitee he merely proffering legal advice.

 

She pointed out that several other Pakatan leaders too have been slapped with prosecution in court since last year's general election, including Selangor State Assembly deputy speaker Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli and DAP's Anthony Loke and Thomas Su under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012.

 

Kok, who is also DAP's Seputeh MP, reiterated that the issues and jokes in her political satire were topics of discussion among people from all walks of life in the country.

 

“Now, there’s a report of one more kidnapping in Sabah, early morning today. So what I've highlighted in the video are merely the problems that we are facing now,” she stressed.

 

Another Chinese national was kidnapped from a fish farm in Lahad Datu’s Silam, Sabah, at 2.45am today.

 

“It is most ridiculous for the government to charge me under the Sedition Act over a political satire. This is a clear-cut abuse of the draconian (and) outdated law which ought to have been thrown into the dustbin.

 

“I will fight this heinous charge to the end. I have not committed any crime and I shall be proven innocent in court,” Kok said.

 

She was represented by Sankara Nair, Param Cumarasamy, Gobind Singh Deo and Aaron Lee Chen Yee.