A Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur has fined a Bersatu leader RM2,000 after finding him guilty of making seditious remarks during a by-election campaign three years ago.
According to Free Malaysia Today (FMT), Sessions Court judge Norma Ismail convicted Datuk Razali Idris after ruling that he had failed to raise reasonable doubt in his defence. The court also ordered that Razali serve a three-month jail term if he fails to pay the fine.
Razali, who is the Kijal assemblyman and a member of the Terengganu State Executive Council, was charged with one count of sedition over comments made at a by-election event held at Padang Astaka Chukai in Kemaman, Terengganu, on November 10, 2023.
During his speech, Razali questioned what he described as differing treatment between Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Muar Member of Parliament Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman in relation to their respective court cases.
Ahmad Zahid had earlier received a conditional discharge on 47 corruption charges, while Syed Saddiq was acquitted last year of charges involving criminal breach of trust and money laundering.
FMT reported that Razali’s lawyer, Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud, appealed for leniency during mitigation, urging the court to impose only a fine. He argued that the video clip containing the remarks had been removed shortly after being uploaded and did not cause any adverse impact on the public.
He also noted that Razali could be disqualified as an assemblyman if fined more than RM2,000 or sentenced to more than one year in prison.
However, the prosecution sought a harsher sentence. Deputy Public Prosecutor Izzat Amir Idham told the court that a custodial sentence was justified, arguing that a fine alone would be insufficient given the seriousness of the offence.
