![Free Malaysia Today](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.freemalaysiatoday.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F10%2FFahmi-Reza-Bernama-111018.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
His lawyer Yohendra Nadarajan told FMT that Fahmi was brought to the Dang Wangi police station and is being probed under the Sedition Act and Communications and Multimedia Act.
Yohendra said police arrived at Fahmi’s home at around 6pm before breaking into the house at about 6.45pm. He said about half a dozen policemen were involved in arresting Fahmi.
“They just said he (Fahmi) is being investigated, but didn’t specify for what exactly. The remand hearing will be at 10am tomorrow, so we’ll only know then,” he said.
Fahmi recently created several Spotify playlists apparently mocking Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah, who is Raja Permaisuri Agong, over a comment she made on her personal Instagram account.
One of the posts on her account was about cooking Malaysian favourites such as bubur lambuk, roti John, cucur jagung, among other dishes at the Istana kitchen. One follower asked whether Istana chefs also received the vaccine, to which she replied “Dengki ke?” (Jealous?).
The reply was quickly picked up on Twitter, with many users using the term as a hashtag.
Fahmi curated numerous playlists on Spotify with the title “This is dengki ke?” which featured a picture of the Queen. The playlists were eventually taken down by Spotify, prompting the artist to move to Apple Music.
PAS Youth deputy chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari yesterday lodged a police report against Fahmi, accusing the artist of insulting the Queen.
In a statement later, Bukit Aman confirmed that Fahmi had been arrested over the playlists involving the Queen and was being probed under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act.
Meanwhile, the coalition of civil societies known as the Freedom of Expression Cluster spoke out against Fahmi’s arrest, saying it was disproportionate and exemplified the arbitrary nature of the Sedition Act.
“The Raja Permaisuri Agong herself had demonstrated the importance of protecting the space for freedom of expression, including critical speech, by denouncing the arrest of individuals over their remarks on Twitter in 2019,” it pointed out.
We are live on Telegram, subscribe here for breaking news and the latest announcements.
Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram