The 30-month jail sentence dealt to a 68-year-old man convicted for insulting Malay royalty is "very excessive", said Bar Council human rights committee co-chairperson Andrew Khoo.

"(It is) very excessive. There should really not have been a prosecution in the first place," he told Malaysiakini .

Khoo said the royal institution is strong and mature enough not to require such protection, and that negative comments should be accepted as freedom of expression, as long as it does not cause chaos and violence.

On Friday, the Temerloh Sessions Court convicted Wan Fatul Johari on three counts of insulting the Malay rulers on Facebook.

He was then jailed for 30 months, after failing to pay a RM120,000 fine for the offences under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act.

Wan Fatul was not represented by a lawyer, which Khoo said was very odd.

"The judge should have ordered the accused to be represented by a lawyer under the National Legal Aid Foundation (YBGK) scheme," he said.

He added that if Wan Fathul wanted help to appeal his conviction, the Bar Council could arrange a meeting to see how best to proceed and what arrangements can be made.

Wan Fathul's conviction comes days after activist Khalid Ismath was released on RM70,000 bail , after being detained for 14 offences under the Sedition Act over alleged insults to Johor royalty.