Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng questioned if the police were trying to protect BN component parties by launching a “sedition” investigation against him.

Lim said two police officers from Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, questioned him today over his statement on Nov 23 urging Gerakan, MCA, MIC and SUPP to quit BN.

The parties were asked to quit the coalition over the coalition’s stand on PAS’ motion to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (Act 355).

Lim is being investigated under Section 4(1)(c) of the 1948 Sedition Act, which deals with publishing a seditious statement.

He added that five reports had been lodged against him in Johor, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.

It was learnt that one of the individuals who lodged a police report against Lim was a minor (aged 13) from Ampang.

“I don’t recall there were any protests. The reports seem to come out of nowhere and it is a frivolous investigation,” Lim said at a press conference today.

“At the end of the day, it is up to the police to proceed, but to whose benefit? These are the new challenges I have to face,” Lim said.

Why police don’t question PM?

Lim decried the police force's double standards for targeting him when he issued the political statement.

He denied questioning Islam but said he was merely giving his views on the proposed amendments to Act 355, saying they were not in line with the Federal Constitution.

“Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has also been the subject of many police reports, but why haven’t the police taken any statements or investigated him?” Lim asked.

“If statements are taken from me for all my statements, I don’t have to do my job, but why the same action is not carried out on the PM?” he further asked.

“There seems to be a special treatment when it comes to me,” he said.

BN also asked DAP to quit Pakatan

Lim said the police action gave an impression that the force was trying to “save” the BN component parties.

He said these BN parties had also asked DAP to quit Pakatan Rakyat for various reasons.

“So should they also be subject to a police investigation? If by asking BN parties to quit BN we can be probed, it seems we might be questioned by police every day, since these parties are often asked to quit BN,” Lim said.

“However, when we are asked to quit Pakatan, those making the calls are not probed, the police seem to want to protect these BN parties,” he said.

Lim also said the investigation might be linked to the state government freezing 1MDB assets in Penang until the scandal-ridden firm comes clean with its records.

In his statement on Nov 23, Lim had urged BN component parties MCA, MIC, Gerakan and SUPP to withdraw from the ruling federal coalition.

He said this following BN's endorsement of "hudud-like" laws proposed under the Act.

The proposed amendments would remove the present punishment cap to raise it to 30 years' jail, RM100,000 fine and 100 strokes of the rotan.

The current syariah punishment is capped at three years’ imprisonment, RM5,000 fine and six strokes of the rotan.