KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 -- Deputy Minister M. Kulasegaran has defended his presence at the Jawi Magistrate's Court with activist Arun Dorasamy this morning, calling it a short meeting after he faced criticism that his appearance signalled government support for the accused.

The deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reforms) said he had been in Penang for a meeting and only stopped by the court briefly while on his way back, Free Malaysia Today reported.

The Ipoh Barat MP from DAP insisted that he was not present inside the courtroom when the charges against Arun were read.

"I stopped by the court to speak to Arun about trusting the legal process as he prepares to face the proceedings ahead," Kulasegar...