In his post, K Sudhagaran Stanley said he had questioned the police for raiding an entertainment outlet in Penang. However, he was only summoned by Penang police over the matter in September 2022.

Sudhagaran said he requested to give his statement to the police in Kuala Lumpur since he was no longer based in Penang. Nonetheless, he said, there was total silence from the police after that, until a few days ago.

“Today, I went to the Serdang police headquarters, accompanied by my lawyer, to give my statement. I am being investigated under Section 500 of the Penal Code (for defamation) and Section 233 of the CMA,” he said in a statement.

There have been various calls for the government to amend Section 233 of the CMA, which criminalises online content that is “obscene, indecent, false, menacing or offensive in character with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass another person”.

Sudhagaran joined these calls, urging Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to expedite the implementation of institutional reforms, particularly abolishing the Sedition Act and amending the CMA.

“We have witnessed over and over again how these laws have been misused by previous governments and the authorities to go after critics and create fear among the public.

“Many politicians from Pakatan Harapan have been investigated under these repressive laws.

“Anwar himself had been investigated under such laws and his daughter, Nurul Izzah, was even arrested under the Sedition Act back in 2015.

“Let us not forget how these laws were used against us during those hard times,” said Sudhagaran, who is now deputy CEO of the Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4).

He also called for the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) Bill to be retabled in place of the Independent Police Conduct Commission (IPCC) Bill, which has been described as being too watered down.