Sedition charge: Karpal ordered to enter defence...

The Court of Appeal in Putrajaya has ordered veteran lawyer and DAP chairperson Karpal Singh to enter his defence on a sedition charge over what he uttered about the Perak constitutional crisis of 2009..
A three-member bench led by recently elevated Federal Court judge Ahmad Maarop ruled that the High Court judge had erred in misdirecting himself over the effects of what the senior lawyer had uttered.

In his written judgment, which Justice Ahmad read out for more than two hours, he said the Perak sultan’s power could not be subject to judicial review as suggested by Karpal.

The net effect of what Karpal said in the press conference, the judge pointed out, was that the sultan did not respect the law with his (Karpal) claim that the ruler had acted ultra vires (beyond his power) with regard to Article 16 (6) of the Perak constitution and this has created hatred.

Article 16 (6) concerns the sultan’s power to appoint the menteri besar.

“What was uttered in the press conference has raised dissatisfaction or discontent with the ruler of the state. It had affected the esteem of the sultan and had also resulted in a clash of civilisations between the relationship of the people and their ruler.

“The prosecution only has to prove that what is stated has resulted in unrest. There is no necessity to show intention in sedition. The court is satisfied that there is a prima facie case against the accused.”

The judge said although Karpal is a respected senior lawyer and an MP, what he said does not constitute freedom of speech as it is not absolute.

He noted comments had also been made on the Perak state secretary’s website and the sultan of Perak’s website following the ruler’s decision to appoint a new menteri besar.

There were also protests outside the Ubudiah Mosque in Kuala Kangsar to oppose the appointment of the new MB.

“This is a serious offence as intention is not necessary to be proven in this case,” said Justice Ahmad.

Court rules out ‘trial by ambush’

The court also ruled that Section 3(1) (f) of the Sedition Act is constitutional and ruled out that the prosecution had conducted a “trial by ambush” by bringing the issue to the appellate court and not during the trial in the High Court.

The judge also noted that 103 police reports had been made against Karpal following his remarks.

Justice Ahmad read out the full transcript of Karpal’s press conference, which was allegedly deemed seditious in a prelude of what seemed to be the court’s decision in calling the veteran lawyer to enter his defence.

The other judges who heard the prosecution’s appeal were Court of Appeal judges Md Apandi Ali and Clement Allan Skinner.

The decision today was unanimous.

With this, Karpal’s defence will be heard in the Kuala Lumpur High Court. Justice Ahmad ordered that Karpal be present at the KL High Court on Feb 9, as the mention date for the court to fix the dates for his defence.

The court was packed with DAP members led by former leader Dr Chen Man Hin and Ipoh Timor MP Lim Kit Siang.

Others present in the show of solidarity and support for Karpal included Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran, Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng, Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua and Batu Gajah MP Fong Po Kuan.

Karpal’s sons, Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo, Ramkarpal Singh and Jagdeep Singh Deo were on hand to represent their father. Also present were Karpal’s daughter Sangeet Kaur and lawyers RSN Rayer and Ramesh Sivakumar, also representing the veteran politician.

The Bar Council, represented by Rajpal Singh, held a watching brief.

DPP Noorin Badaruddin represented the prosecution.

Karpal was acquitted without his defence being called on the sedition charge by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on June 11, 2010.

The DAP chairperson and Bukit Gelugor MP was charged with sedition on the contents of his Feb 6, 2009, press conference, during which he said legal action could be instituted against the Perak sultan over his role in the state constitutional crisis earlier that year.

He was charged under section 4(1) (b) of the Sedition Act 1948, which carries a maximum fine of RM5,000 or a jail term of three years, or both, if found guilty.

Karpal was charged with uttering seditious words at his office, Tetuan Karpal Singh & Co, at Jalan Pudu Lama, Kuala Lumpur, between noon and 12.30pm on Feb 6, 2009.

 

source:malaysiakini

Mahkamah Rayuan batalkan pembebasan Karpal, arah pembelaan isu hasutan

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