PENANG government information officer and Islamic preacher Wan Ji Wan Hussin is expected to be released today after being detained since Friday.

“The magistrate has rejected the police’s application to remand Wan Ji for three days. He will be released today,” said PKR Youth in a statement, citing Wan Ji’s lawyers, Saiful Izham Ramli and Zulhazmi Shariff.

Wan Ji is PKR Youth religious bureau chief. 

Police picked him up at Masjid Sembilang, where he had delivered the sermon for Friday prayers. He was taken to the Seberang Prai police headquarters in Bandar Perda, Bukit Mertajam, before being taken transferred tothe Dang Wangi police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. 

Inspector-General of Police Mohamad Fuzi Harun later confirmed that the popular preacher was being investigated under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act on suspicion of insulting a sultan.

PKR officials believe the investigation into Wan Ji began when a social media user lodged a report at Dang Wangi about a video recorded in 2013 allegedly showing the preacher insulting the monarchy.

This is not Wan Ji’s first run in with the law over his remarks on the royals.

In October 2014, he was charged over a Facebook post that was deemed to be insulting to Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah of Selangor.

He challenged the case at the Federal Court, claiming that the law used to charge him was unconstitutional.

Wan Ji ‘sarrest comes after another preacher, Zamihan Mat Zin, was arrested for allegedly insulting the sultan of Johor.  – October 15, 2017.