KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 19): Umno Youth chief Datuk Muhamad Akmal Saleh is to be charged for statements deemed disturbing public peace, according to the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC).

Muhamad Akmal, along with two others, is to be charged under Section 505(b) of Penal Code, which concerns publishing a statement with the intent to cause fear or alarm to the public, the AGC said in a statement late on Tuesday. 

The other two to be charged under Section 505(b) are Muhammad Hilman Idham and Siti Hajar Aflah Sharuddin.

Meanwhile, a fourth individual, Chandrasegaran Subramaniam, is to be charged under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act for improper use of network facilities or network services.

According to the AGC’s statement, Muhamad Akmal is alleged to have made the relevant statement on his Facebook page “Akmal Saleh”: Muhammad Hilman on the TikTok account “alfah.channel.tv”, Siti Hajar on the TikTok account “SHA_Abrineda”, and Chandrasegaran on the TikTok account “cikguchandra3”.

The decision to charge the individuals comes after the AGC examined the investigation papers submitted by the Royal Malaysian Police. Previously, the police said an investigation was launched over a viral video posted on the Facebook account under the name "Akmal Salleh" after it received a report on Aug 12.

Muhamad Akmal reportedly gave his statement to the police on Aug 16 over an assembly that took place in Kepala Batas, Penang, earlier that week.

On Tuesday, Muhamad Akmal said he is currently out of the country and noted that he would be returning to face the charges at the Bukit Mertajam Magistrate's Court in Penang on Friday (August 22).

"I am currently performing umrah in Mecca. I will cut it short and return to face the charges at 8am on Friday at the Bukit Mertajam Magistrate's Court.

"See you in court," he said in a Facebook post.