JOHOR BAHRU: Creative and indie book writer Firdaus Abdillah Hamzah or ‘@pipiyapong’ who was alleged to have insulted Johor’s crown prince has been released on police bail.
Johor police chief Datuk Mohd Khalil Kader Mohd said Firdaus Abdillah, 36, was detained in Kuala Lipis, Pahang at 11.15am on Thursday.
He said a police report was lodged on May 4 by a 37-year-old man over a Twitter posting by ‘pipiyapong’.
“The posting contained insults aimed at Tunku Mahkota Johor,” he said in a statement here yesterday.
Mohd Khalil said an investigation paper was opened under Section 504 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
Earlier, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was reported as saying that the people should be free to criticise their leaders and that freedom of speech was crucial in a democratic country.
Meanwhile, Johor crown prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim said via Twitter that the palace did not lodge any report and that it had nothing to do with the one received by police. – Bernama
