Senior lawyer Karpal Singh has been fined RM4,000 for sedition by the Kuala Lumpur High Court, thereby losing his eligibility to represent the parliamentary constituency of Bukit Gelugor.

The prosecution had pressed for a custodial sentence, as a deterrent, in submitting at the mitigation stage of the case this morning.

Justice Azman Abdullah, however, said he had looked at the facts of the case and considered the public interest, as well as the special circumstances of Karpal’s health condition in imposing the fine.

“The court recognises Karpal as a reputable senior lawyer who has been involved in many cases, including constitutional matters.

"The sentence is meant as a deterrent to anyone who makes comments about the rulers,” he told a packed court-room.

Karpal Singh and his son, lawyer and Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo, later said a notice of appeal will be filed within 14 days against the sentence at the Court of Appeal and at the Federal Court if necessary.

Notice of appeal was filed last week against the conviction.

Karpal left after paying the fine, to shouts of ‘Long live Karpal' from some 100 supporters who had gathered this morning at the entrance to the Kuala Lumpur court complex in Jalan Duta.

On Feb 21, Justice Azman had found him guilty of sedition over the remark that action can be taken against the Perak sultan for removing Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin as menteri besar during the 2009 imbroglio in the state assembly.

Section 4 of the Sedition Act provides for a maximum fine of RM5,000 or a maximum jail term of three years, or both.

Karpal is the second person in as many years to be convicted of sedition. Hindraf leader P Uthayakumar was found guilty last year and is serving an 18-month jail sentence.

Observers from Britain and the US, Lawasia’s Mark Trowell, were in court today, alongside former UN special rapporteur Param Cumaraswamy, Bar Council chairperson Christopher Leong, vice-chairperson Steven Thiru, and Cyrus Das who is representing the Commonwealth Lawyers Association.

PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar, treasurer William Leong and Tamrin Ghafar were among those from Pakatan Rakyat, along with Nizar and former Bersih 2.0 chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan and current chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah.

PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu and secretary-general Mustafa Ali; and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and veteran leader Lim Kit Siang were also present.

    

‘Selective prosecution’

Earlier, Gobind and his younger sister, Sangeet Kaur, had mitigated for Karpal to be bound over owing to his physical condition, as he has been wheelchair-bound since a traffic accident in 2005.

Sangeet said that, following the accident, her father has had to be fully aided because his spinal injury prevents him from using all his limbs. She presented two medical reports to back her assertions.

Gobind (left) showed that Karpal has been involved in many constitutional cases and pointed out that his father was merely giving an opinion on law about the Perak constitutional crisis.

There have been worse instances of sedition, Gobind noted, citing the cases of Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali, who had threatened to burn the Malay-language Bible, Perkasa vice-president Zulkifli Noordin and academician Ridhuan Tee Abdullah.

“Why hasn’t the prosecution or the Attorney-General’s Chambers taken action against them, but only against Pakatan representatives? Where is the equality of the law protected by the federal constitution? All this denotes selective prosecution,” he said.

He submitted that remarks of seditious tendency, under Section 3(1), had been repealed with the withdrawal of the 1969 Emergency proclamation in 2011.

DPP Noorin Badaruddin submitted that, while the Section 3(1) had been repealed, the offence stands as the remark was made in 2009.

In asking for a deterrent sentence, including jail time, she said the people’s respect for the Malay rulers has been affected by such circumstances.

Gobind wanted the court to hear submissions from the Bar Council and Cyrus, but the judge did not allow this.