KUALA LUMPUR - A top opposition politician in Malaysia has been charged in court with sedition for allegedly insulting a royal figure.
Veteran opposition politician Karpal Singh was charged in court on Tuesday with sedition for threatening to sue the Sultan of Perak over his refusal to call for fresh polls in the state.
Sultan Azlan Shah had instead installed a new Barisan Nasional government, after the opposition Pakatan Rakyat-held administration collapsed when four defectors jumped ship last month.
Mr Karpal, who is an MP from Penang, had threatened to take the Sultan to court.
The Malay rulers have legal immunity in their official capacity.
Mr Karpal was alleged to have committed the offence at his office in Kuala Lumpur on Feb 6, during a press conference, at which opposition leaders Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang and Teresa Kok were present.
Speaking to reporters before entering the court on Tuesday morning, the wheelchair-bound Mr Karpal said he was not worried.
'I have been in politics for 40 years and I have been in courts before. It is part of our job as members of parliament to speak without fear or favour,' he said.
He was charged a day after his son, also a lawmaker, was suspended from Parliament for calling the next prime minister a murderer.
