Malaysian satirist Fahmi Reza took a swipe at Sabah authorities after he was detained by police for 24 hours over his artwork criticising the state’s controversial new governor Musa Aman.
Musa, whose four-year term started on Wednesday, has long been accused by his critics of corruption even though he was never convicted.
Notorious for depicting former Prime Minister Najib Razak as a clown at the height of the 1MDB scandal in 2016, Fahmi was arrested in Sabah on Monday on sedition charges after he lampooned Musa with a caricature depicting the politician with a ringgit note instead of a tongue.
Fahmi was held in remand overnight before being released on Wednesday night and brought back to Kuala Lumpur, where he lives.
In an Instagram post laced with sarcasm, he praised the prison food and facilities and said “thank you very much” to Musa and Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor, vowing to return to the state.
“This package comes with a free return flight ticket from [Kota Kinabalu] to [Kuala Lumpur], all sponsored by the Sabah Chief Minister’s Department,” Fahmi quipped about his transfer between the two cities.
