PUTRAJAYA: The sedition trial of PKR Sri Muda assemblyman Mat Shuhaimi Shafiei will begin at the Shah Alam High Court on Wednesday.
The Federal Court today in an unanimous decision dismissed the Court of Appeal’s landmark decision that the prosecution must prove intent when charging an individual with sedition.
The five judge panel led by Tan Sri Wira Ahmad Maarop also held that Mat Shuhaimi had abused the court process in attempting to declare Section 3(3) of the Sedition Act as unconstitutional.
“With the decision today, we fixed the trial for the respondent's (Mat Shuhaimi) sedition case on Wednesday at the Shah Alam High Court,” he said.
The panel also described the civil application made by the respondent as an abuse of the court process as he had previously failed to strike out Section 4 of the same Act.
In September 2014, Mat Shuhaimi sought a court order to declare Sections 3 and 4 of the Sedition Act invalid on the grounds that they violated his fundamental liberty of freedom of speech as guaranteed by Article 10(1)(a) of the Federal Constitution.
The High Court in 2015 dismissed Mat Shuhaimi’s civil action and ordered him to pay RM2,000 cost to the government, the sole defendant in the case.
However, the court of Appeal on Nov 23 last year allowed his appeal and declared that Section 3(3) of the Sedition Act, which states that the intention of the person charged with sedition is irrelevant as it is sufficient for the prosecution to prove the remarks have a seditious tendency, is unconstitutional.
Presiding with Ahmad were Federal Court judges Tan Sri Ramly Ali, Datuk Balia Yusof Wahi, Tan Sri Zaharah Ibrahim, and Datuk Dr Prasad Sandosham Abraham.
Mat Suhaimi, who is also the Selangor menteri besar's political secretary, was charged with sedition on Feb 7, 2011, for posting matters relating to the laws of the Selangor state government, on his blog dated Dec 30, 2010.
He was charged under the Sedition Act which carries maximum three-years jail term or maximum fine of RM5,000 or both, upon conviction.