JOHOR BARU: Police have set up a special team to probe a statement by former Perak menteri besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Nizar Jamaluddin on the bid for the registration plate WWW 1 by the Sultan of Johor.

Johor police chief Datuk Mohd Mokhtar Mohd Shariff said it has received eight reports on the matter and an investigation will be conducted under the Sedition Act, Bernama reported.

“Police will complete the investigation paper after examining the reports and will forward it to the deputy public prosecutor,” he said when contacted here yesterday.

Mokhtar advised the people to respect the laws of this country and refrain from making baseless statements.

On Tuesday, Nizar via Twitter said the Sultan of Johor’s RM520,000 bid for the vehicle registration plate WWW 1 could have been used to help the poor instead.

Johor Umno Youth chief Mohd Fadil Muskon yesterday urged the police and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to act against Nizar or anyone who supported his statement on Twitter, Facebook or any other media.

“Johor Umno Youth considers this matter as defamatory and rude to the Sultan of Johor. This is provoking the people to hate the royal institution,” he said after making the report at the central police station here yesterday.

Johor Baru Umno Youth and 20 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) also made police reports at the same station.

Malay online news site Sinar Harian reported yesterday that Nizar had apologised if his tweet had hurt anyone’s feelings. He said his tweet was not meant to question the Sultan’s decision, but was merely the statement of a member of the public, the news site reported.

“It is merely my view as a member of the public who observes the situation in the country where many are still living in hardship and need attention,” he told the news site.

This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, May 31, 2012.