Police confirm sedition probe against Zahid over remarks to Umno
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 30 — Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is under a sedition investigation over his special address to his party’s delegates last weekend, the police confirmed today.
The Royal Malaysia Police’s Corporate Communications Department said a dozen reports have been lodged against Ahmad Zahid, a former deputy prime minister, over the matter.
“PDRM confirms that an investigation is being run by the Classified Crimes Investigation Unit from Bukit Aman’s Criminal Investigation Department under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act,” it said in a statement.
During the special address held after former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak lost his final appeal against his SRC International conviction, Zahid criticised the judiciary, the Attorney General’s Chambers, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, among others.
Zahid also insisted that Najib’s conviction and 12-year prison sentence in the SRC International case were politically motivated.
On August 23, the Federal Court unanimously upheld Najib’s conviction on all seven charges of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering, with a sentence of 12 years’ imprisonment and a fine of RM210 million with immediate effect.
The former prime minister is currently serving the sentence at the Kajang Prison and Ahmad Zahid said during the weekend that Umno planned to use this as rallying point for the party’s election campaigns.
