Former DAP MP Karpal Singh was arrested under Section 4 (1) B of the Sedition Act tonight. He would be charged in court on Friday, said DAP publicity secretary Ronnie Liu, who had accompanied Karpal to the Dang Wangi police station this afternoon. According to Liu, Karpal was to be charged for his remarks he made in court that "people in high places" were behind an alleged attempt to poison sacked deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim with arsenic last September.

Karpal, who is a defence lawyer for Anwar, was reported to have told the court during the sodomy trial that "someone out there wants to get rid of him (Anwar) ... even to the extent of murder". "I suspect people in higher places are responsible for the situation," Karpal added.

Under the Sedition Act 1948, a person deemed to "bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against any ruler or against any government" can be fined RM5,000, or sentenced to a three-year jail term or both on conviction for a first offence.

Meanwhile, KeADILan vice president Chang Tian Chua, one of the few said to be on the arrest list, told malaysiakini tonight that he had not been contacted by the police.