Kuala Lumpur: Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor was acquitted by the High Court in Shah Alam today in his sedition case from comments on the Selangor Sultan, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.
According to Sinar Harian, Judge Datuk Aslam Zainuddin freed Sanusi, 50, after the prosecution informed the court that it did not intend to pursue the case further.
“The court orders that Sanusi be acquitted and discharged from one sedition charge against the Sultan of Selangor, while the other case against the Agong is set for trial,” Aslam was quoted as saying.
Earlier, Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Masri Mohd Daud had requested for a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) for the first case.
Sanusi’s lawyer, Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud, objected, arguing for a full discharge to provide his client with final resolution under the law.
Sanusi previously claimed trial to both sedition charges, and sought to resolve them through representation to the Attorney General’s Chambers.
The Kedah MB apologised to Sultan Sharafuddin earlier this year, which the Sultan accepted in the spirit of Islamic brotherhood.
Sanusi, a prominent leader in the Perikatan Nasional opposition coalition, faces a maximum penalty of RM5,000 or three years' imprisonment if convicted of the remaining charge under the Sedition Act.
