Eric See-To taken to Dang Wangi police headquarters over 'lighad' comment

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Barisan Nasional strategic communications deputy director Datuk Eric See-To was reportedly taken to the Dang Wangi district police headquarters early on Sunday, believed to be over a social media comment on the use of the word "lighad" in the 2027 budget speech.

The Star, citing sources, reported that See-To was taken to the station at about 12.45am on Oct 11.

The report did not detail the section of law involved, whether a remand application had been made, or what further action might follow. No official police statement was cited, and the information came entirely from unnamed sources.

The controversy began after See-To's comment on the word "lighad" circulated as a screenshot on social media. In it, he set the word against the word "liwat", which refers to sodomy.

"Lighad" means for tomorrow and appears in Surah al-Hashr, verse 18, which Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim cited in the third paragraph of his budget speech in the Dewan Rakyat on Oct 9.

UMNO Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh had demanded a public apology and said a police report would be lodged against See-To. Angkatan Muda Keadilan and DAP leaders also condemned the comment.

See-To has said he did not know the word appeared in the Quran when he wrote his original comment, and maintained that he was commenting on the use of a word rather than a verse of scripture.

He has also claimed that the Quranic excerpt was added by other parties to material later circulated alongside his comment, and said he would lodge a police report against them. That remains his own account and has not been independently verified.

Separately, senator and former Bachok MP Nik Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz defended See-To, saying he had done nothing wrong and that the matter was a misunderstanding.

Being taken to a police station or detained to assist an investigation does not mean a person has been found to have committed an offence.

An official police statement is still needed to establish the legal basis for any action, whether an investigation has been opened, and the actual status of the case. The distinction between investigation, detention, remand and prosecution has to be clear before any conclusion is drawn.

Eric See-To is also known as Eric Lim Sian See in some media reports.