KUALA LUMPUR: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sarawak member Iswardy Morni has been slapped with a RM5,000 fine by the Sessions Court here for making seditious remarks against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in 2021.
FMT reported that judge MM Edwin Paramjothy, while delivering the sentence, said that first-time offenders like Iswardy, 47, are generally entitled to mitigation unless the offence is severe.
“In this case, the accused has no prior record of similar offences, which strengthens the argument for mitigation,” Paramjothy told the court, which was filled with Iswardy’s supporters.
Despite this, the judge imposed the maximum fine of RM5,000, with a six-month jail term in default.
Iswardy, who serves as PKR’s central information coordinating secretary and Petra Jaya division chief, promptly paid the fine.
The court convicted Iswardy on Dec 30, ruling that he had failed to raise reasonable doubt against the prosecution’s case.
Proceedings were then adjourned to allow both parties to submit arguments on mitigation and sentencing.
Iswardy was charged under Section 4(1)(a) of the Sedition Act 1948 for statements made in a Facebook video titled ‘Total lockdown: apa yang kerajaan gagal belajar dalam setahun’ (Total lockdown: what the government failed to learn after one year).
The video, posted during the Perikatan Nasional administration led by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, was deemed seditious and insulting to the former king.
The offence was said to have occurred at the Commercial Crime Investigation Department office in Wangsa Maju at 3pm on May 29, 2021.
In his judgment, Paramjothy noted that Iswardy’s remarks exceeded permissible discourse and fell squarely within the ambit of sedition.
“The impugned statements were directed at the then King, whose reign coincided with a period of extraordinary national and global turbulence marked by the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
He highlighted the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s proactive leadership during the crisis, ensuring governance stability and the rakyat’s wellbeing amid immense challenges.
The judge added that while the accused’s words were not explicitly vile, their theatrical delivery and provocative insinuations undermined any legitimate concerns Iswardy might have intended to express.
Quoting William Shakespeare’s ‘Henry IV, Part II’, Paramjothy remarked, “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,” stressing the immense burden borne by constitutional monarchs.
He also added that a balance must be struck between freedom of expression and respect for the monarchy, stating that a custodial sentence would be counterproductive and cause undue harm to the accused.
“The court must temper punishment with mercy where there is a genuine prospect for rehabilitation,” he concluded.
Deputy public prosecutor Iznina Hanim Hashim represented the prosecution while lawyers Faizal Rahman and Nik Mohamed Ikhwan Nik Mahamud defended Iswardy.
