Police defend use of Sedition Act in alleged insults to royals
Deputy inspector-general of police Noor Rashid Ibrahim has defended the detention of three individuals for allegedly insulting Sultan Muhammad V on social media.
This, he said, is as the police need to take "strict action" to ensure national security is not at risk...
Deputy inspector-general of police Noor Rashid Ibrahim has defended the detention of three individuals for allegedly insulting Sultan Muhammad V on social media.
This, he said, is as the police need to take "strict action" to ensure national security is not at risk.
"The matter has gone viral on social media and if the police do not act accordingly, we fear that it might trigger a situation that could jeopardise the country's security.
"So we have to take strict action, according to the confines of the law," he told a press conference at the Royal Malaysia Police College in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, today.
Earlier, Noor Rashid had attended a forum on child abuse, with Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Hannah Yeoh.
He was asked on the update on the arrest of three individuals who put up social media posts which allegedly insulted Kelantan's Sultan Muhammad V, following his recent resignation as the Agong.
According to Noor Rashid, the police have handed it the investigation papers of the case to the prosecutor.
Inspector-general of police Muhamad Fuzi Harun had said that the arrests followed police reports lodged by members of the public against the trio.
"If I'm not mistaken, there were four police reports. Those arrested have been freed on bail today, and we will leave it to the prosecutor for further action," he added.
Commenting on Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's statement earlier today that law enforcement agencies need to be taught what is constituted as an insulting remark or action, Noor Rashid said laws are needed to guard national security.
"Among the police's roles are to maintain law and order, to maintain security, and to prevent crime.
"So whatever incident, even in social media, if left uncontained, it can jeopardise public order. Hence the power under existing laws should be used to prevent such incidents," he said.
He cited the Sedition Act as one such law.
"In this modern world, there are those who misuse social media. So there must be a law to contain this activity. The responsibility of a netizen is to ensure news that they want to share is true, verified, and not one that can affect the country's harmony."
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