KUALA LUMPUR — Two men were brought before the Sessions Court here over offensive Facebook posts involving sensitive issues of race, religion and royalty (3R), with one sentenced to jail after pleading guilty and another claiming trial on a similar charge.
In the first case, 64-year-old Mat Derus Ali was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment after admitting to uploading offensive content against the royal institution on Facebook in August last year, Bernama reported.
He pleaded guilty before Judge Ahmad Fuad Othman after the charge was read out.
Mat Derus was accused of knowingly initiating communication of an offensive nature with the intent to hurt others through his Facebook account at 2.15am on August 20, 2024. The post was later detected at the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) Tower in Cyberjaya.
He was charged under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
Deputy public prosecutor Fadhli Ab Wahab said the content amounted to a clear insult to the royal institution and contained elements of racial and religious provocation that could incite hostility.
In delivering the sentence, Ahmad Fuad reminded the accused that issues involving race, religion and royalty are highly sensitive and should never be treated lightly.
In a separate case before the same court, retired soldier Marzuki Ismail, 52, pleaded not guilty to posting an offensive Facebook comment in December last year.
He was accused of making and initiating offensive communication through his Facebook account at about 2.30pm on December 22, 2025, with the post later detected at the MCMC Tower in Cyberjaya.
The court allowed bail of RM7,000 with one surety and set June 9 for case mention. – April 22, 2026