A SOLIDARITY gathering was held for graphic artist and activist Fahmi Reza this morning outside the Dang Wangi district police station, where he is being held for allegedly insulting royalty.

According to Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department (CID) chief Huzir Mohamed, the artist, who was arrested last night, is to be brought before a magistrate today for remand.

Media reported that 20 people had gathered to demand his release, holding placards criticising the Sedition Act.

Fahmi is being investigated under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948 and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act over a social media post of a Spotify playlist featuring jealousy-themed songs allegedly aimed at Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah.

This follows the queen’s comment on Instagram, “Dengki ke?”, which roughly translates to “Are you jealous?” after a commenter had asked her if all the chefs in the palace had also been vaccinated against Covid-19. 

Such sentiments against the palace follow an article in Asia Sentinel that the king had been inoculated with the unapproved Sinopharm vaccine while on a recent trip to the United Arab Emirates and had allegedly brought back 2,000 doses for other members of the royal family and friends.

The article has been denied by Health Minister Dr Adham Baba but the palace has yet to respond to it.

Fahmi’s social media post had said: “This is Dengki Ke? 100 Dengki songs all in one playlist” along with a picture of the playlist bearing the queen’s photo. – April 24, 2021.