PARTI Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) information committee member Badrul Hisham Shaharin, also known as Chegubard, was arrested for his Facebook comments alleging a casino in Forest City, Johor.
His remand started today and was confirmed by his lawyer, who said they objected to the four-day remand, securing a two-day remand instead.
According to his lawyer Rafique Rashid, the arrest is to facilitate a police investigation into a social media posting made by Chegubard regarding alleged talks on the opening of a casino in Forest City, as reported by Bloomberg.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim denied the casino claims made in reports by Bloomberg and Singapore’s Strait Times that linked Anwar and King of Malaysia Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar to discussions about the casino.
Chegubard, said Rafique, was arrested at the Tapah Rest and Recreation area in Perak about 7pm before he was brought to the Dang Wangi district police headquarters.
“The arrest is related to his Facebook posting on the alleged opening of a casino in Forest City as reported by Bloomberg. The case is being investigated under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act.
“The application for remand will be heard at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters at 8.45am today,” said Rafique in a statement.
Anwar described the claims made in the report as a ‘lie’. Genting Malaysia Bhd has also come forward to dismiss the claims made in the report.
Genting Malaysia said neither the company nor its chief executive officer Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay were involved in discussions about the opening of the casino.
Meanwhile, a pro-Pakatan Harapan portal today said former law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim erred big time as he attempted to defend Chegubard.
It chided the former law minister, saying he overlooked the fact that Chegubard had implicated Agong and Anwar in the matter.
This morning, Zaid questioned the need for the police to arrest Chegubard over a post on Facebook where he quoted Bloomberg and Singapore media on reports claiming that a casino would be established in Forest City, Johor.
“Why is he being investigated for sedition and the (Communication and) Multimedia Act? Ridiculous. And that is not enough. They had to remand him. Why remand and put him in custody when the police could quickly proceed with the investigation and allow CheBard his freedom, which he is entitled to?
“Chegubard has never failed to cooperate with the police on countless investigations into him,” Zaid wrote. – April 28, 2024
