Hassan confirms 'touching on rulers' one of two charges against him

Vocal PKR lawmaker Hassan Karim has confirmed that one of the two charges levelled against him is for “touching” on the Malay rulers.

“This is because, in my writing, I linked the institution of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as being the second biggest shareholder in U-Mobile and pointed out that under Article 34 (3) of the Federal Constitution, the Agong is forbidden from being actively involved in commercial business activities,” he told Malaysiakini.

The Pasir Gudang MP, however, pointed out that he did not mention Agong’s name or the words “Yang di-Pertuan Agong” in his social media post which landed him in trouble.

The current Agong, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, is the second biggest shareholder in the telecommunications firm with a 22.3 percent stake. The firm has been picked as the second operator for Malaysia’s 5G network.

The biggest shareholder is Straits Mobile Investments Pte Ltd - a subsidiary of Singapore’s Temasek-owned ST Telemedia - with 48.3 percent. However, it was announced that Straits Mobile Investments would reduce its shares to 20 percent.

Hassan was commenting on being summoned by the PKR disciplinary board yesterday following complaints against him from several members of its central leadership council.

As for the first charge, the lawmaker said it concerned his criticism of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, whom he accused of continuing the practice of “crony capitalism” with regard to awarding the contract to U-Mobile.

“Therefore, I was accused of tarnishing the party’s image which is a disciplinary offence under the PKR constitution,” he added.

The veteran politician said he could either be let off with a stern warning or be suspended or expelled.

However, he declined to comment further, saying: “The time has not come for me to answer.”

Ironically, before being hauled up, Hassan was conferred the 37th Lim Lian Geok Spirit Award for 2024 for his principled stand on issues and for fearlessly speaking up.

PSM deputy chairperson S Arutchelvan has also called on PKR to spare the lawmaker, claiming that Hassan is the party’s “sole voice and soul of reformasi” left.

Overall contributions

Responding to the disciplinary probe on Hassan, the Lim Lian Geok Spirit Award select committee chairperson Yow Lee Fung said she would not interfere, saying this is the party’s internal matter.

Yow said the award conferred on Hassan was based on his overall contributions over the years, including standing up for justice regardless of race or religion, speaking out bravely, resisting populism, and promoting multicultural coexistence.

"These qualities align with Lim’s spirit," she told Malaysiakini.

"We did not specifically analyse each incident he was involved in, but instead assessed his overall public conduct and statements over the long term."

Lim, a teacher and advocate for Chinese education, dedicated his life to defending the welfare of Chinese school teachers, opposing policies like the Barnes Report (1951) and Rahman Talib Report (1960) that threatened vernacular education.

As president of the Kuala Lumpur Chinese Teachers Association, he co-founded the United Chinese School Teachers Association of Malaya and negotiated the inclusion of vernacular schools in the 1956 Razak Report.

He championed the Malayanisation of Chinese textbooks and upheld loyalty to Malaya, refusing to leave despite losing his citizenship and teaching licence in 1961 for opposing the 1961 Education Act.

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