PERIKATAN Nasional activists, led by Badrul Hisham Shaharin, have lodged six police reports against Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Communication and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil for alleged abuse of power and intimidation.

Badrul, better known as Chegubard, when contacted, said the reports were lodged this afternoon at the Dang Wangi district police station, and more would be made tomorrow at several stations across the country.

Badrul, a former PKR member, said this was in response to the action taken by the government against its “dissidents” in the past few weeks.

“We are lodging the police reports after several of our friends, including civil servants, were called up by the police,” he said.

“This was after they, including an auxiliary policewoman, had allegedly made lewd or crude remarks against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on social media platforms.

“The action carried out by the government, especially the Home Ministry and Communication and Digital Ministry, is an act of intimidation and abuse of power.

“It is also a contempt of court when the courts have previously meted out its sentence and find Anwar guilty of sodomy.

“We lodged six police reports today and will continue to made more tomorrow nationwide.”

On September 28, police detained an auxiliary policewoman for allegedly making an insulting remark about Anwar on Facebook.

The action was condemned by Lawyers for Liberty director Zaid Malek, who said crude or offensive remarks were not acts that warrant criminal investigation.

“Despite the change in government that was promised to usher in an era of reform, the police are still scouring social media sites and making reports against citizens on random posts or comments that purportedly disparage or insult the government or those who are in power,” Zaid said in a statement.

Johor police chief  Kamarul Zaman Mamat said the 39-year-old woman, who was arrested in Endau, Mersing, was being investigated under section 504 of the penal code for intentional insult, section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for misuse of network facilities and section 14 of the Minor Offences Act 1955 for insulting behaviour likely to cause a breach of the peace.

The arrest was made following a report lodged by a senior police officer who supposedly came across the comment made by the woman on Facebook.

In August, police also confirmed that it was investigating former Umno Youth leader Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris, popularly known as Papagomo, over a video allegedly insulting Anwar.

Kedah Crime Prevention and Community Security Department chief Alzafny Ahmad said the report was lodged by a Pendang Umno division committee member. – October 8, 2023.