Karpal Singh has slammed de facto law minister Nazri Abdul Aziz for using the excuse that prostitution had allegedly taken place in calling for a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) on the sex video.

NONE “Nazri is fast giving expression to his recent description that he is a Parliamentary loose cannon in the Dewan Rakyat. There is no doubt that he has loose knowledge of the law,” said the Bukit Gelugor MP in a statement today.

Yesterday a news portal reported Nazri calling for an RCI on the sex video to “to determine whether an act of prostitution took place” as allegedly portrayed in the sex video screened to select members of the media at Carcosa Seri Negara on Mar 21.

“Prostitution is illegal in Malaysia. If you participate, or you are aiding and abetting in prostitution, if you patronise prostitutes for sex, this is a crime,” the website reported Nazri saying.

Karpal however argued that according to Malaysia’s present laws, “prostitution is not an offence in the country as the law now stands.”

The DAP chairperson cited Section 372B of the Penal Code under the heading, ‘Soliciting for the purpose of prostitution’ that states:

“Whomever solicits or importunes for the purpose of prostitution or any immoral purpose in any place shall be punished with imprisonment...”

“As de facto Law Minister, Nazri is expected to know the basic law in the country,” added Karpal.

“To make public statements of matters that do not amount to infringement of the law in the country, does not speak well of the high position that Nazri holds as minister in the Malaysian cabinet,” he said, adding that Nazri needed a crash course in law.