RPK: A BIRTHDAY BEHIND BARS

Dear Pete, I join millions of truth-loving Malaysians in wishing you an auspicious and serene start to your 58th solar orbit. When the Umno/BN regime falls, we shall all be liberated!

From the Wikipedia entry on RAJA PETRA KAMARUDIN:

Born in Surrey, England, 27th September 1950, Raja Petra Kamarudin was educated at the Alice Smith School. At the age of 13 he went to further his studies at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar, completing his education at the Victoria Institution. Raja Petra used to own a motorcycle dealership and was also a rice distributor. He has been fascinated with motorcycles since he was young.

On April 14, 1973, at the age of 23 years old, he married Marina Lee binti Abdullah who was then 18 years old. Marina Lee Abdullah, of Siamese-Chinese extraction, is a book publisher. Raja Petra and Marina have five children: Raja Suraya (1974), Raja Azman (1977), Raja Shahril (1978), Raja Azmir (1983), and Raja Sara (1988). They also have two grandchildren.

Raja Petra is a member of the Selangor royal family. He is the nephew of the late Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, the eleventh Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) of Malaysia and the seventh Sultan of Selangor. His mother, Che' Bariya Kamarudin (née Barbara Mabel Parnell) is Welsh.

Political involvement

Raja Petra was a leading member of Parti Keadilan Nasional (now Parti Keadilan Rakyat) — the party set up in response to the arrest of former Malaysian deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim in 1998. On April 11, 2001, Raja Petra and 10 other opposition activists were detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for allegedly plotting to overthrow then prime minister Mahathir bin Mohamad. He was released from the detention center 52 days later.

Malaysia Today

Raja Petra started the Malaysia Today website and his blog to facilitate open discussion on Malaysia's political and social scenes. In his online writings, he is often very witty, humorous and sometimes critical of the current political developments in Malaysia. In his Malaysia Today columns, he advocates transparency, accountability and justice in the Malaysian political system. He often denounces money politics, corruption, and ethnic polarisation that is deeply rooted in Malaysian society.

On July 2, 2008, Malaysia Today was defaced by a person known only as "Gasakdotnet," replacing the website with a superimposition of Mahathir Mohammad's face onto the poster of the film We Were Soldiers, accompanied by the tagline - "My Countrymen, My Fellow Malaysian" - alluding to Mahathir's "battle" for Malaysia as the Prime Minister from 1981 to 2003. Poor Internet connectivity affecting several areas in Malaysia hampered efforts to restore the website promptly.

Second ISA Detention

On September 12, 2008, Raja Petra was detained under the Internal Security Act. According to his wife, 10 police personnel from Bukit Aman came to their home in Sungai Buloh at about 1.10pm to arrest him. They also confiscated some books and VCDs. Prior to this on September 6, Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar had warned the 58-year-old editor of popular news portal Malaysia Today could be charged under the ISA for comments allegedly insulting Islam and Prophet Muhammad. Several religious groups - Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim), Yayasan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia (Yadim), Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council (Maiwp) and Federal Territory Religious Department (Jawi) - had lodged police reports against him. The groups complained his comment in an article entitled "I promise to be a good, non-hypocritical Muslim" allegedly used sentences that insulted Muslims.

Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin filed a habeas corpus application at the High Court here on September 16, 2008, seeking his release from detention under the Internal Security Act. The notice of motion was filed at the High Court criminal registry about 3.45pm via Messrs Mathews Hun Kandiah. In a move to counteract the probable release of Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin by the Malaysian High Court, the Malaysian Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar signed an order to remand Raja Petra on Monday September 22, 2008 for up to two years at the detention facility under section 8(1) of the ISA. The move by the Malaysian goverment supports the contention that there was no reasonable cause to arrest Raja Petra and that the new order under section 8(1) was implemented to prevent Raja Petra from criticising the ruling party. Remand orders under section 8(1) cannot be challenged in court and are always ordered by a minister of the government.

Held under an archaic security law without trial, Raja Petra was incarcerated at the Kamunting Detention Center in northern Perak state, which has 60 detainees under ISA, most of whom are suspected Islamic extremists. ISA permits the government an initial detention of 2 months for investigation, followed by a 2-year jail sentence which can be renewed indefinitely. The 1948 ISA is a holdover from British colonial rule, intended for communist insurgents.

Controversies

Muhammad Muhammad Taib

On July 23, 2007, Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib, UMNO's Information Chief, lodged a police report against Malaysia Today at 12.57 p.m. at the Tun H.S. Lee police station, under Section 121 (B) and Section 123 of the Penal Code, Section 4 of the Sedition Act 1948 and Section 263 and Section 266 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, for a July 11 blog entry on the website deemed to contain writing that insulted the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, degraded Islam and incited hatred and violence between ethnic groups. Raja Petra Kamarudin responded by releasing an article on Malaysia Today, lashing back at Taib with allegations of hypocrisy and corruption. A second police report against Raja Petra was believed to be lodged after the release of the article, and Raja Petra was summoned to the Dang Wangi police station on July 25, 2007, for eight hours of questioning. His wife was also questioned for an hour.

After his release from questioning, Raja Petra told the media that Muhammad Muhammad Taib lodged a police report against him on behlfof the government, to silence political bloggers in the run-up to the Malaysian general election on March 8, 2008.

Universiti Utara Malaysia

Raja Petra made headlines again at the end of March 2008 when a Malaysian High Court ordered him, the group editor-in-chief, and the editor of PKR’s organ Suara Keadilan to pay a total of RM7 million to Universiti Utara Malaysia and its vice-chancellor Tan Sri Dr Nordin Kardi (right) for libel.

Altantuya Shaariibuu

Najib Razak accused of involvement in gruesome murder

Raja Petra was charged on May 6, 2008, with sedition for allegedly implying that the Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak was involved in the sensational killing of a young Mongolian woman, Altantuya Shaariibuu. Also charged for sedition was businessman Syed Akbar Ali, who had allegedly posted a seditious comment on Malaysia Today.

Raja Petra Raja Kamaruddin, who did not deny that he linked Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak to the slaying, pleaded innocent to the charge, and said he should have the right to hold the powerful accountable for wrongdoing. Raja Petra was taken to a detention center after he refused to post the bail of RM5,000. The court set the trial for October 6, 2008. If convicted, he faces up to 3 years in prison. "I am not posting bail. See you guys in October, I will be out for Christmas. Don't worry." His wife said she was "quite stunned" that Raja Petra refused to post bail, and said she thought he wanted to make a statement by not posting bail, which he reportedly felt he could not afford to. She launched a campaign to solicit donations of RM1 from the public for the RM5,000 bail, but called it off a few hours later after the campaign raised over RM35,000.

Several Members of Parliament from the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition were present at Raja Petra's hearing, with one, Nurul Izzah Anwar, calling Malaysia Today "the primary source of a lot of unearthing of scandals especially corrupt practices of the leadership and the government... it has helped [open] the eyes of the nation to what is going on and what is wrong with the country. It played a huge role in the last elections." On the same day, Lim Kit Siang raised the issue of Raja Petra's sedition charges in Parliament, arguing that Najib had personally intervened to ensure the Attorney-General would charge Raja Petra with sedition, and calling it an abuse of power.

Raja Petra's wife Marina Lee Abdullah stated: "He is on a hunger strike. It is a protest. The last time he did this, his liver was damaged. I don't think he is going to last that long." Raja Petra also refused visits by family members. On his release, Raja Petra claimed that he had not, in fact, been on a hunger strike but was refusing to eat and drink for fear of being poisoned. He remarked that Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Cpl. Sirul Azhar Umar (on trial for the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu) were being remanded at the same prison and had yelled threats at him.

Statutory declaration

In a statutory declaration on June 18, 2008, Raja Petra accused Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor (the wife of Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak) of being one of three individuals who were present at the crime scene when Altantuya Shaariibuu was murdered on Oct 19, 2006. He wrote that Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, and Acting Colonel Aziz Buyong and his wife, Norhayati Hasan, Rosmah’s aide-de-camp, were present at the scene of the murder and that Aziz Buyong was the individual who placed C4 plastic explosives on Altantuya’s body before blowing it up. The statutory declaration also mentioned that the information he obtained regarding the above allegations were contained in a Military Intelligence report received by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, implying knowledge on the part of the Prime Minister.

In retaliation, the two people named in Raja Petra Kamarudin’s June 18 statutory declaration, Lt-Col Aziz Buyong and his wife Lt-Col Norhayati Hasan, alleged to have been present at the murder scene of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu, sued the Malaysia Today editor for defamation. Aziz is seeking an apology from Raja Petra to be published in certain websites and newspapers, the removal of the statutory declaration from his blog and damages of RM1 million.

The police recorded Raja Petra’s statement at the Sentul Police Station on Saturday, 5 July 2008. He was repeatedly asked the identity of the informer named in his statutory declaration but Raja Petra stood firm and refused to reveal the informer’s identity. He told the police he was prepared to go to jail if necessary just to protect the informer. Raja Petra revealed that he met private investigator Balasubramaniam Perumal (left) the night before the press conference of 3 July 2008, during which Balasubramaniam linked the Deputy Prime Minister to the murdered Mongolian woman. On July 4, 2008, the private investigator suddenly changed his stand and appeared very disturbed, giving the impression that someone had got to him and forced him to sign a second Statutory Declaration removing all references to the Deputy Prime Minister and claiming that the first Statutory Declaration had been made under duress.

Anwar Ibrahim Sodomy Case

On 14 August 2008, the Malaysian High court ordered Raja Petra to reveal his sources used in articles that alleged sodomy accusations against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim were fabricated. Raja Petra had in three articles posted on his blog implied that lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah was behind the sodomy accusations by Anwar's 23-year-old aide. Muhammad Shafee obtained a court order on 13 August against Raja Petra, ordering him to reveal the sources of the three articles and the identities of those who commented on them. The court also ordered him to remove the articles and all comments within two days and refrain from publishing similar allegations. Raja Petra said he would not reveal his sources and did not know the identity of the commenters on his website.

Police on 22 August raided the home of Raja Petra, in connection with Muhammad Shafee Abdullah's defamation suit against Malaysia Today. A computer, scanner and some documents were seized.

Feud with Najib Tun Razak

On July 16, 2008, the Malaysian police obtained a warrant of arrest against Raja Petra for criminal defamation. This was due to his statutory declaration connecting Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, saying she was present when Mongolian national Altantunya Shaariibuu’s body was blown up. On July 17, Raja Petra was charged with three counts of criminal intimidation over his statutory declaration on the murder of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu. He is alleged to have defamed Deputy Prime Minister's wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor by making a libellous statement in the declaration which he affirmed on June 18 when he knew that it would tarnish her good name. He also faced similar charges against Kolonel Norhayati Hasan and her husband Acting Kolonel Abdul Aziz Buyong. Legal sources in Malaysia have questioned why the criminal libel charge, a government offense, was filed rather than a civil action by either Najib or Rosmah. They have pointed out that Rosmah has no official government position and is just the wife of a politician, which hardly warrants state interference.