KUALA LUMPUR – DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke has highlighted that government figures are not immune to police investigations, amid probes into Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh.
Loke, who is also the transport minister, pointed to how police investigated DAP veteran Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang when Pakatan Harapan (PH) was part of the unity government.
“Just because you’re a member of a party within the government, it doesn’t mean that you cannot be questioned by police,” Loke told a press conference at KL Sentral, here, today.
“(Lim) was questioned by police and we (DAP) did not raise (any issues).”
Loke said this when asked whether Akmal’s questioning related to the “Allah”-printed socks furore could potentially cause friction within the unity government.
In December last year, police confirmed that Lim was being investigated over his comments on the possibility of a non-Malay being appointed as the prime minister.
Earlier today, Akmal announced his detention by Sabah police on Facebook, stressing that he would not budge from his stance over convenience store chain KK Mart’s contentious sale of the socks.
He also said he was scheduled to have his statement recorded at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow.
In a video depicting him being detained at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport, Akmal was captured saying, “no fear, no surrender,” while smiling at the camera from inside a police vehicle.
It is learned that Akmal flew to Kota Kinabalu this morning to attend the Kembara Ramadan programme in the state with Sabah Umno Youth members.
After being detained for over two hours at the Kota Kinabalu police headquarters, Akmal was summoned by authorities for a second round of questioning.
The Merlimau assemblyman also told reporters that he was confused by the investigation conducted by the Sabah police, stating that he had not made any statements about the issue of “Allah”-printed socks in the state.
The case is investigated under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948 and Section 233 of the Multimedia Communication Act 1998.
In response to the police investigation, Umno secretary-general Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said that the party has rallied the support of its legal adviser, Datuk Mohd Hafarizam Harun, to assist Akmal.
Some PAS leaders have questioned the police’s interrogation of Akmal. The party’s Youth chief, Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden, asserted that his Umno counterpart had not committed any crime, as he was merely defending the sanctity of the term “Allah”.
Afnan also took issue with Umno president and deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s apparent silence on the matter. – April 5, 2024