Malaysian student not being probed — police

A 17-year-old Malaysian high school student is not under investigation for sedition after “liking” a pro-Israel Facebook page, Seberang Perai police chief Shafien Mamat says.

Shafien tells the Malaysian Rakyat Post that it is the incident — which culminated in the student receving threats from individuals at his school, prompting him to lodge a complaint with police — which is under investigation, not the student himself.

He adds that after taking statements from five individuals, including the pupil and teachers, police believe a misunderstanding was the main cause of the incident.

“We hope to conclude our investigations by this week and hand over the report to the Deputy Public Prosecutor’s office to be assessed,” Shafien says.

Earlier, Malaysian media reported that the teenager was being investigated by Malaysian police for sedition, sparking outrage over perceived growing intolerance in the Muslim-majority country.

The 17-year-old student in the northern state of Penang had “liked” a page that declared “I love Israel” and featured a picture of the Jewish state’s flag, Penang police chief Abdul Rahim Hanafi was quoted as saying by Malaysian media.

Abdul Rahim reportedly said a sedition probe was under way and that the student claimed to have accidentally clicked “like.”

Sedition can result in three years in jail in Malaysia, which has no diplomatic relations with Israel.

— AFP contributed to this report.