One man jailed, another claims trial over offensive Facebook posts involving sensitive issues of race, religion and royalty in separate court cases
SEPANG: Two men faced court action over offensive social media posts. One was jailed after pleading guilty, while another claimed trial on similar charges involving sensitive issues of race, religion and royalty (3R).
In the first case, Mat Derus Ali, 64, was sentenced to four months in jail by the Sessions Court. He admitted to uploading offensive content against the royal institution on Facebook in August last year.
He entered his guilty plea before Judge Ahmad Fuad Othman. Mat Derus was accused of knowingly initiating a communication of an offensive nature with the intent to hurt others via his Facebook account.
The post was made at 2.15 am on August 20, 2024. It was later detected at the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) Tower in Cyberjaya.
The offence was charged under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. Deputy public prosecutor Fadhli Ab Wahab said the content amounted to a clear insult to the royal institution.
He added it contained elements of racial and religious provocation that could incite hostility. Delivering the sentence, the judge warned that issues involving race, religion and royalty are highly sensitive.
He stated these matters must not be trivialised. In a separate case before the same court, retired soldier Marzuki Ismail, 52, pleaded not guilty.
He is accused of posting an offensive Facebook comment in December last year. Marzuki is charged with making and initiating an offensive communication via his account at about 2.30 pm on December 22, 2025.
The post was also later detected at the MCMC Tower in Cyberjaya. The court allowed bail of RM7,000 with one surety.
It fixed June 9 for case mention.
