By IANS,
Kuala Lumpur : Three police reports were lodged against Malaysian Indian lawmaker Karpal Singh for allegedly questioning the special rights and authority of the Sultan of the Perak state.
Complaining against him Thursday were fellow-members of parliament belonging to the parliament Back Bencher’s Club (BBC), who alleged that Singh, as per a news report, had said that Sultan Azlan Shah had no jurisdiction to order the reinstating or transfer of
an official.
This pertains to Perak religious department head Jamri Suri, whose services were terminated by the new opposition-run Perak government.
A political issue, Singh’s criticism of the royal has also been challenged by ministers and leaders of Barisan Nasional, the coalition in office at the federal level.
Many of them have said his remarks amounted to ‘sedition’.
BBC leaders said the police report was being lodged to uphold the powers and authority of state rulers as stipulated in the federal constitution.
A similar report was lodged by a Malay non-governmental organisation, Barisan Bertindak Perpaduan Melayu by its chairman Osman Abu Bakar.
An hour later, secretary-general of the ruling United Malaysian National Organisation (UMNO) Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor came with a group of about 10 members, and also lodged a report against Karpal Singh saying his comments were ‘seditious’.