PKR Subang parliamentarian Sivarasa Rasiah will be charged under Sedition Act for allegedly saying during the March 7 'Kita Lawan' rally that the judiciary was used by Umno to incriminate PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.

He will be charged under Section 4(1)(b) of the Act next Tuesday at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court.

Sivarasa was served with the notice when he appeared at Kuala Lumpur's Dang Wangi district police headquarters after being summoned for questioning.

"I was served with a notice to attend court next Tuesday after the interrogation," he said.

This made him the 10th person to be charged over Kita Lawan, a series of rallies organised to pressure the government to release Anwar.

Sivarasa was to have been charged earlier on Sept 8 together with Bersih chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah (photo) and eight others.

But he had obtained a medical leave for six weeks for a surgery.

On Sept 8, Maria, PKR Bayan Baru parliamentarian Sim Tze Tzin, and seven others were charged under the Sedition Act 1948 and the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) 2012 with taking part in Kita Lawan rallies between Feb 28 and March 28.

Eight were charged under Section 4(2)(c) of the Peaceful Assembly Act and are liable to a maximum RM10,000 fine if found guilty.

Seditious speech charge

Apart from Maria and Sim, others to be charged are PKR Teja state assemblyperson Chang Lih Kang; Semambu state assemblyperson Lee Chean Chung; Jingga 13 leader Fariz Musa; activists Mandeep Singh, Adam Adli; and Rozan Azen Mat Rasip, an aide to PKR Batu parliamentarian Tian Chua.

The three PKR lawmakers may lose their MP status if found guilty. They will be automatically disqualified as lawmakers by virtue of the RM2,000 fine.

The ninth accused, Parti Amanah Negara Youth leader Mohd Fakhrulrazi Mohd Mokhtar, was charged with uttering a seditious speech.

“It seems to me the police have made up their mind; (the summons) was just a formality,” said Sivarasa.

Despite this, the PKR leader vowed the government’s effort to silence them will not work.

“We will never be silenced,” he promised.