KUALA LUMPUR – Bersatu information committee member Badrul Hisham Shaharin, better known as Chegubard, has claimed trial on two charges of making seditious remarks and defaming Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim today.
Badrul, who was represented by lawyer Rafique Rashid Ali, pleaded not guilty after the charges were read before judge Siti Aminah Ghazali at the cybercrime sessions court here today.
The bail amount was set at RM10,000 for each charge.
Yesterday, Rafique was reported as saying that Badrul would be charged with criminal defamation for “using the name of the King” under Section 500 of the Penal Code and Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act.
Badrul was arrested at Tapah’s rest-and-recreation area in Perak at around 7pm last night and was brought to the Dang Wangi police station over his comments, which were posted on his Facebook page, insinuating the alleged claims of a casino being opened in Forest City, Johor, as the “financial hub” previously announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
In his post, Badrul also thanked Bloomberg, Singapore’s Straits Times, and The Business Times for publishing reports on the matter.
According to reports from Bloomberg, Singapore’s Business Times, and the Straits Times, it has been claimed that Anwar, who is also finance minister, recently held meetings with Tan Sri Vincent Tan, the founder of Berjaya Group, and Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, the top executive of Genting Group, to discuss the potential of opening a casino in Forest City.
The report also said that a representative of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim was also present at the meeting.
They also claimed that the possible development of the casino would be part of the effort to boost economic development in the area.
The second charge involves allegedly seditious statements posted online concerning last month’s meeting between Sultan Ibrahim and KK Mart founder Datuk Seri Chai Kee Kan.
Sultan Ibrahim granted Chai an audience following the controversy over socks bearing the word “Allah” being discovered at one of the convenience store chain’s outlets.
Badrul was summoned by the police on April 8 over a posting about the meeting. – April 29, 2024