A mobile telephone and laptop computer were confiscated from the offices and home of former Perak MB Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin in a raid yesterday.

“Johor police had raided my service centres in Manjong and Bukit Gantang (both in Perak), Perak PAS office and my home yesterday. They took my handphone and notebook (computer),” he said on micro-blogging site Twitter .

According to Malay daily Sinar Harian , the operation, believed to be in relation to Nizar's remark over the Johor sultan’s purchase of the WWW1 car number plate, took place at about 11.30am.

Nizar, who is MP for Bukit Gantang, was reported to have been attending the Parliament sitting in Kuala Lumpur when the raid took place.

The police also came to his house in Sungai Rokam, Ipoh, but no raid was conducted as Nizar was not around.

Perak PAS spokesperson Safarizal Saleh told Sinar Harian that the police had obtained a search warrant from the court to search for evidence at the three premises.

However, he said the raid was quite a surprise because no prior notice was given.

“Throughout the investigation, we gave good cooperation. A few of our lawyers even helped them in their operation.

“I was informed that the operation lasted around 30 to 45 minutes, but I am not sure whether they found any evidence,” he said, adding that no interview was done with the staff at the three premises.

The Johor ruler had submitted the top bid of RM520,000 to acquire the much sought-after ‘WWW1' number-plate last month, breaking the record set by ‘MCA 1' that was sold for RM300,100 in 2010.

There was widespread criticism of the bid in cyberspace, with one of the strongest comments coming from Nizar.

He said the money could have been spent to help the many poor Malays in Johor and used to build 20 houses for the hardcore poor.

Following protests from Umno, Malay NGOs and a dressing down from the ruler, Nizar offered an apology and sought an audience with the Johor sultan to explain his controversial remark, claiming that his tweet had been misrepresented by the mainstream media, in particular the Umno-owned daily Utusan Malaysia .

He is also being investigated by the police under the Sedition Act.