Cops investigate Umno MP over campaign speech

N SEMBILAN POLLS | Police have opened an investigation paper against Jempol MP Shamshulkahar Deli over a speech during the state election campaign.

State police chief Alzafny Ahmad said Shamshulkahar will be probed under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code, Section 4(A)(1) of the Election Offences Act 1954, and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

“Any violation of the law will be met with firm, fair, and principled enforcement without compromise,” he said in a statement posted on Facebook today.

According to Alzafny, one of the reports was lodged by a 55-year-old who came across the speech on social media and claimed it contained objectionable content.

Section 505(b) of the Penal Code deals with intentionally making, circulating, or publishing statements, rumours, or reports likely to cause fear or alarm among the public, or which may induce a person to commit an offence against the state or public tranquillity.

Section 4(A)(1) of the Election Offences Act 1954 covers offences relating to the publication or dissemination of false statements or allegations made with the intention of affecting the outcome of an election or influencing voters.

Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, meanwhile, concerns the improper use of network facilities or services, including the transmission of communications deemed obscene, indecent, false, menacing, or offensive with the intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass another person.

While the police did not state the exact nature of the offence, it is believed to be linked to the speech in which Shamshulkahar allegedly implicated DAP in circulating an edited image deemed insulting to Selangor ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.

Free Malaysia Today reported that several DAP leaders, including Jelutong MP RSN Rayer, had lodged police reports yesterday over the said remarks.

Rayer accused Shamshulkahar of referring to the doctored image and creating a false impression that DAP was responsible for producing it.

He described the allegations as false, defamatory, and made with malicious intent, and called on the police to carry out a thorough investigation into the matter.

‘I did not mention anyone’

However, the Umno man denied implicating DAP in his speech, saying he had merely raised an issue that previously occurred, including a rebuke made by Sultan Sharafuddin at the time.

“It was a normal statement concerning political parties. I did not mention the name of any individual.

“I merely raised an issue that had been touched upon by the Selangor sultan, as well as the disrespectful attitude associated with DAP,” FMT reported him saying.

Besides the probe into Shamshulkahar, police opened two other investigation papers yesterday, following a total of nine reports lodged over alleged misconduct during the state polls.

These involved allegations of vote-buying targeting Pakatan Harapan supporters and the vandalism of a campaign banner featuring a Harapan assemblyperson in Port Dickson.

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