Former Malaysia PM Muhyiddin charged with sedition over alleged remarks on royalty, lawyer says

GUA MUSANG, Kelantan: Malaysia has charged opposition leader and former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin with sedition for allegedly insulting the country’s former king, his lawyer said on Tuesday (Aug 27).

The monarchy plays a largely ceremonial role in Malaysia and is held in deep respect. Negative remarks about royalty can be prosecuted under a colonial-era Sedition Act.

Malaysia’s police confirmed on Monday that the Attorney General’s Chambers had ordered Muhyiddin to be charged with sedition.

Muhyiddin was questioned last week by police for purportedly questioning the role of Malaysia’s king in the formation of the government following the country’s November 2022 general election. 

He allegedly did so in a speech that was reportedly made on Aug 15 at Felda Perasu in the lead-up to a state legislative by-election in Kelantan. A clip of the speech has since gone viral.

Pahang ruler Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah was the king during that period and stepped down earlier this year under Malaysia’s unique rotational monarch system. 

Muhyiddin – who is currently the president of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) – was the country’s eighth prime minister and held power from March 2020 to Aug 2021.