Activist Hishamuddin Rais dodged the prison sentence after he was found guilty by the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court of sedition.
The 64-year-old was instead fined RM5,000.
In delivering the sentence, Judge Azman Mustapha reportedly said that jailing Hishamuddin did not benefit public interest, The Malaysian Insider’s V. Anbalagan reported.
It was also ‘inappropriate’ to jail a man his age, Azman reportedly said.
“His action did not influence his audience to demonstrate in the streets. There was also no act of violence as a result of his utterances,” TMI quoted Azman as saying.
Hishamuddin was charged with sedition on May 29, 2013 along with PKR vice-president Tian Chua, ex-PAS leader Tamrin Ghafar, student activist Adam Adli Abd Halim, Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia president Safwan Anang and activist Haris Ibrahim.
