The Penang prosecution director has rejected Umno Youth chief Akmal Saleh’s representation seeking to have a charge linked to a Facebook post about the upside-down display of the Jalur Gemilang dropped.
His lawyer, Aizat Azam, said the representation was submitted about 10 months ago, with the rejection communicated during a case mention today, Sinar Harian reported.
He said the defence applied to the Bukit Mertajam Magistrates’ Court on Monday to submit a second representation to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), setting out the facts, views and legal opinions concerning the case.
“God willing, we will submit the representation to the AG’s office after this,” he told reporters outside the Bukit Mertajam court complex today.
Charge over Facebook video
Akmal was charged last August under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code with making statements likely to cause public fear or alarm. The charge relates to a video posted on his Facebook account on Aug 11.
In the video, Akmal allegedly gave the AGC a two-day ultimatum, demanding confirmation that legal action would be taken against an individual he referred to as an “apek”, or elderly Chinese man, for allegedly displaying the national flag upside down.
Aizat said the case had been ongoing for more than a year, with no trial date fixed, as the defence had been awaiting a decision on its representation.
The court has fixed Jan 4, 2027, for a decision on the second representation to be submitted by the defence.
The case was handled by state prosecution director Muna Jaafar before magistrate Roshayati Radellah.
Besides Aizat, Akmal was represented by lawyers Syahrul Syazwan Salehin, Hafiz Norkhan, Imran Tamrin, Syafiq Bahtiar, Zaki Shah, Fazreen Izuan and Shakeel Saifuzzaman.
Judicial review proceedings ongoing
On Akmal’s application to commence judicial review proceedings challenging the AG’s decision to charge him over the Facebook post, Aizat said the matter remained at the case management stage.
“Tomorrow, we will attend an online case management at the Penang High Court and inform the court that we need another date while awaiting the outcome of the second representation to be submitted to the AG,” he said.
