PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu is to be charged in court tomorrow over his Aug 21 speech in Penang, in which he questioned official accounts of the Bukit Kepong incident.

Mohamad, widely known as Mat Sabu, faces a charge under Section 505 of the Penal Code for making a statement liable to lead to public mischief.

He has to be present at the Butterworth Sessions Court at 9am tomorrow, according to his lawyer Hanipa Maidin.

If convicted, Mat Sabu  could face up to two years in jail, a fine, or both.

Hanipa said his client is innocent and that the authorities  would be charging the wrong person. 

"They should be charging Utusan Malaysia ," he said when contacted.

On Aug 27, Utusan had published several reports alleging that Mat Sabu had praised communists who had attacked the Bukit Kepong police station in 1950, leaving 26 people dead.

Mat Sabu had allegedly made the following remarks: "... Bukit Kepong, the police there were British police, the ones who attacked Bukit Kepong were government officials, the leader was Mat Indera (Mohammed Indera), a Malay.

"But history has been covered up. Jins Samsuddin, who made the (Bukit Kepong) film, ...is an Umno (member). His story of Bukit Kepong (said that) those who attacked the police station were criminals..."

The reports further alleged that the PAS deputy president had treated Mat Indera as a freedom fighter.

Mat Sabu has since claimed that Utusan had grossly distorted his words and has filed a defamation suit against the Umno-owned daily.

The speech also sparked debate between BN and the opposition on the country's independence history and whether it was ever colonised.

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