Internet regulator hunting Malaysians who insulted royals post-Perak Sultan’s death

(Malay Mail Online) – Internet users who insulted the royal institution, especially over the death of the Sultan of Perak two days ago, will be hunted down and face legal action, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said today.

MCMC chairman Datuk Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi urged the public to help the regulator track down social media users who made the offending remarks over Sultan Azlan Shah’s death.

“We are acting to trace those individuals and ask members of the public who have any information that can help in MCMC’s investigations to step forward and provide the information,” he said in a brief statement.

“We view such insults seriously and will take necessary action based on the laws as provided in the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998,” Mohamed added.

Last December 17, the Dewan Negara was told that MCMC had until June last year investigated 29 cases of alleged insult against Islam and the royal institution.

In the past, several individuals have been fined in court for insulting state rulers, including a October 2013 case where a Facebook user was slapped with a RM20,000 fine for insulting the Johor ruler, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar.

Sultan Azlan Shah, 86, died at 1.30pm on Wednesday. He was the ninth Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia and served the full five-year term and before returning as Sultan of Perak in 1994.

The Perak Sultan was highly criticised for his role in removing Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin as mentri besar during the Perak constitutional crisis in 2009.

The silver state fell into a crisis when three assemblymen quit the PR pact, citing discontent with the loose pact which lead the 59-seat legislative assembly with 32 representatives.