Wong’s counsel Shashi Devan said the High Court judge had set aside the DNAA and remitted the matter back to the magistrates’ court to be fixed for mention.

“The matter is now going to go back to trial, which is a position that we thought was correct.

“We will of course now be back at court in order to defend Wong at trial,” he told reporters at the Shah Alam court today.

Wong was charged under Section 188 of the Penal Code for disobeying “an order duly promulgated by a public servant”.

The activist was arrested on Nov 7, 2020, when police raided the residence of fellow activist Yap Wen Qing, in relation to an investigation into an article published by the Universiti Malaya Association of New Youth (Umany) concerning the role of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Wong had filmed the police’s actions during the raid with his mobile phone.

Umany had published an article entitled “Yang di-Pertuan Agong should not intervene in national affairs” on its Facebook page.

However, the association retracted the article and issued an apology to the monarch in a Facebook post on Nov 12 of the same year.

Shashi said the High Court’s decision was a small victory.

“We never asked for a DNAA. This is something we must make clear from the outset.

“Wong has always believed he has the right to a fair trial, as entrenched in the Federal Constitution, and he would like to have his day in court to prove his innocence,” he said.

Wong previously said a trial had not commenced in his case.

“Nor was there a prima facie case against me. Furthermore, I did not submit any representation letter requesting a withdrawal of the charge, and the prosecution (also) did not apply for a DNAA.”

Wong, who is considering filing a review for a full acquittal, said while he understood the magistrate’s decision, it fell “short of the desired outcome”.

We are live on Telegram, subscribe here for breaking news and the latest announcements.