(Bloomberg) -- A Malaysian opposition leader was charged with sedition on Tuesday over comments he made on the former king during a campaign trail.
Former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was charged in a court in Kelantan state and pleaded not guilty, his lawyer Takiyuddin Hassan told reporters outside the courthouse. He could face up to three years in jail and a maximum 5,000 ringgit ($1,148) fine if convicted.
The charge is a fresh blow for Muhyiddin and his Perikatan Nasional bloc, which failed to retain its seat in a by-election in Kelantan on Aug. 17. Muhyiddin also faces accusations of money-laundering and abuse of power, while his pro-Malay coalition has been losing ground after six lawmakers switched allegiance to support Anwar Ibrahim.
Muhyiddin courted royal ire after videos circulating online showed him saying the former king didn’t invite him to the palace despite having enough support to become prime minister. His speech, delivered while campaigning for the provincial polls earlier this month, was in reference to a heated race against Anwar for the top job after a hung parliament in 2022.
Malaysia’s rotating monarchy has played a significant role in determining the prime minister as governments struggle to keep a parliamentary majority. Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, whose five-year-term as king ended in January, named Anwar as prime minister after he agreed to the monarch’s proposal to form a unity government.
(Updates with further details in third paragraph)
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