KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia police have reportedly arrested a second person over allegedly insulting the Sultan of Johor on Facebook and Twitter, in the latest case that is seeing freedom of speech under threat in the Southeast Asian country. Malaysian Undergraduates Solidarity media secretary Ahmed Shukri Kamarudin was detained on Sunday after Partubuhan Penyatuan Pembelaan Melayu Malaysia President A. Rahman filed a police report against the man, arguing that postings Shukri made “not only the Sultan of Johor, but also his subjects.” “Legal action should be taken against those who ridicule the Malay rulers,” said Rahman in comments published by the Bernama news agency. It comes on the back of another blogger, Syed Abdullah, being arrested for reportedly insulting the Sultan on his personal blog last week. The blogger was arrested last week on charges of insulting the Sultan of Johor on his personal blog. Magistrate Hafizah Johor Ariff Johor allowed police to extend the detention order for Abdullah and his girlfriend which ended on Saturday. Abdullah, 46, and the woman, 26, arrived at Johor Baru court complex handcuffed in a police van at about 10 AM and were taken out of the court chamber at about 11:15 AM, Bernama news agency reported. “It is wrong that he was arrested for something he said and he should be released immediately," one blogger told Bikyamasr.com, adding that “since when does the royal family care about what people say. Most people love them." The blogger was arrested at a toll station in the central Sembilan state after police reports had been filed against him for postings he made concerning the Sultan of southern Johor state. It is a crime to insult Malaysian royalty, even though their actually power is largely ceremonial, but much of the population still holds them in high esteem. Johor police said in a statement that Syed Abdullah was being “investigated under the Official Secrets Act for revealing secret information." Police refused to elaborate on what exactly the blogger wrote that caused the lawsuit to be filed. Abdullah could face as many as 7 years in prison if convicted and given the full sentence allowed by the court. Syed Abdullah, 46, blogs under the name “Uncle Seekers" and is reportedly a paranormal practitioner. Press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders has condemned Syed Abdullah's arrest, saying it was “very disturbed" by it. “Syed Abdullah's arrest is unacceptable," the Paris-based group said in a statement Thursday. “Government officials should not, under any circumstances, be able to use state secrets as a pretext for putting themselves above the law and flouting the fundamental right to information," it added.
