RPK: FREE AS A BIRD!

How can you free a man who’s already free? RPK has always been free. Do you think a few pathetic iron bars can encage a Man of Steel? Once you have overcome all your fears - even your fear of death - you are forever free. And Raja Petra Kamarudin, at age 58, has certainly achieved that, going by his last blogpost before he was hauled off to Sungai Buloh Prison on May 6, after refusing on principle to pay bail.

Freedom is a spiritual condition. Physically, RPK may not be free to drive around town and have a beer with his mates. Perhaps RPK the self-made Master of his own Destiny is taking this golden opportunity to journey within and take a break from the incessant fray raging in political circles.

Going into self-chosen seclusion and deep silence may be his way of detoxing, recharging and renewing himself. It will be an ascetic retreat sponsored by the federal government - but he will emerge glowing with even greater luminosity.

Remember, Gandalf the Grey wrestles the Balrog and they both plunge into the fiery abyss. When Gandalf reappears he has become even more powerful as Gandalf the White. The Balrog perishes.

Only, in the case of RPK, the Balrog is a monster of infinite darkness called BN.


[RPK portrait courtesy of Malaysiakini. Balrog illustration by Ted Nasmith]

A LETTER TO RPK, MY BRAVE WARRIOR BROTHER

Raja Petra Kamarudin and his wife Marina in front of the Dang Wangi Police Station (photo: T.V. Smith)


Dear RPK, brave warrior brother,

I'm sorry I could not be physically present today at the Jalan Duta Court to lend you moral support. I know full well you are doing what you do on behalf of all Malaysians who have had it with the ongoing charade that passes for "justice" in this fair land that has been made unfair by those who have mismanaged it for decades.

I fully empathize with the powerful feelings that prompted you to go out on a limb and court trouble by blogging so outspokenly about the deafeningly unspoken facts surrounding Altantuya's murder. You have certainly provoked the hidden hand of the invisible puppetmasters to hit out at you. We thank you for heroically taking the blow and sacrificing your personal time and energy for the ultimate good of the nation. As a warrior for Justice and Truth you have won a permanent place in the hearts of all honest Malaysians and deserve recognition as a national hero.

Now is the time every Malaysian must ask: why have the police not taken any action to arrest those who stole public property when they lost their jobs after the elections? I hear that confidential files, official records, computers, printers, fax machines, etc. were criminally removed from the premises of state government offices within hours of the elections. As far as I know the incoming state governments have lodged police reports on this outrageous theft and shameless attempt to destroy incriminating evidence. I've been waiting patiently to read that the police have called in the ex-Chief Ministers of Selangor, Perak, Kedah and Penang for questioning about the missing files and office equipment.

RPK, you have committed no offence against anyone but those who have been trying to hide behind the privilege of high office and who believe their misbehavior cannot be questioned. There isn't a single honest citizen who believes you deserve to be thus harassed by the police. Instead, we wish to see the police take immediate action against the REAL criminals, many of whom continue to form the government of the day.

Even the current prime minister is guilty of complicity in a grotesque cover-up. In November 2006 Abdullah Badawi had the opportunity to distance himself from being tainted but he chose to protect his deputy from investigation. That decision may have won him Najib Razak's apparent loyalty - but only at the cost of his own credibility. By that action he has condemned the entire BN administration as one that habitually conspires to cover up even the most heinous crimes committed by ministers. This constitutes an indelible stain on the legitimacy of the BN government and has put the nation in serious crisis.

(Courtesy of Jeff Ooi)

A campaign to restore Malaysia's dignity and ensure justice - not only for Altantuya but for all who have been wronged - has been initiated on Facebook. This virtual group only serves as a rallying point to raise public awareness and mobilize when necessary against further injustice. We fervently hope the need to organize another mammoth rally on RPK's behalf will not arise. But if the BN administration remains stubborn and arrogant and unable to read the writing on the wall and in the sky... friends, we know what we must do!

A WORD OF GENTLE ADVICE TO THE POLICE AND THE JUDICIARY: THINK CAREFULLY BEFORE CARRYING OUT ILLEGAL ACTIONS AGAINST THE INNOCENT AS ORDERED BY THE CORRUPT FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.


IN A FEW MONTHS THE BN WILL NO LONGER BE IN POWER... AND YOU WILL BE ANSWERABLE FOR YOUR ACTIONS AGAINST JUSTICE AND THE RAKYAT!

How They Came Up With The Logo For The Beijing Olympics

[Forwarded by Praemeenah]

Raja Petra Kamarudin: TO HELL AND BACK!

I have long suspected that Raja Petra Kamarudin aka RPK aka Uncle Pete is an escapee from the Marvel Comics Universe. His true life exploits equal or surpass any to be found within the paneled layouts of those hallowed (and often yellowed) pages inhabited by a pantheon of wondrous beings spawned by the feverish imaginations of Jewish creator gods with names like Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. RPK's latest adventure takes place in the Null Zone Fortress known by the code name "Peace Hill." He had been accused of saying nasty things about Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister and his gross wife in connection with a sensational Mongolian murder case. Below is RPK's dramatic "Tale of Two Rajas" told in his own inimitable words...

The police officer told me that a police report had been made against me but when I asked to see a copy of the police report they could not produce it. The police officer walked around the room pondering what to do and then sat down again and said he does not know where the police report is. In fact, he had never even seen it.

I then told the police officer that I too had made a police report against the CID Director, Bakri Zinin, after he assaulted me in March 2001. What happened to that police report, I asked him, and why was nothing done about it?

He replied that he does not know anything about that police report and I told him that we are not going to discuss this new police report made against me until we first settle the matter of the police report that I made in March 2001. That was seven years ago, I said, and nothing has been done about it. I do not wish to talk about a police report made against me just a few days ago.


I then asked under what section is my statement going to be taken. Is it under Section 112? When the police officer replied ‘yes’, I then asked him whether he was going to read me my rights under this cautioned statement? Before he could reply I replied, “Never mind. Let me teach you some law. Let me tell you the terms and conditions of Section 112.” By then my lawyer, YB William Leong, looked rather lost. He had absolutely no idea where this whole thing was leading to.

“Under Section 112, I must reply to all questions, right?” The police officer nodded and I shot back with, “Well, I refuse to make any statement.” He gave me a blank look so I repeated, “I am not going to make a statement. I refuse to make a statement.”

I saw the police officer’s mouth open as if he wanted to say something but the words just seemed to elude him. “Look,” I said, “Under Section 112, I can’t refuse to make a statement. If I do then you have to arrest me. So arrest me now.”

By now he was completely disoriented and did not know how to react. “No, we are not like that,” he said. “We don’t want to arrest you. We just want to record your statement.”

“Well, I refuse to give my statement so it is now your duty to arrest me. That is your job. If you don’t arrest me your boss will fuck you. So arrest me now.” I held out my arms so that he could cuff them.

The police officer gave a very nervous laugh and looked at YB William with a ‘please help me out’ look on his face. YB William shrugged his shoulders and pointed to me in a ‘that is between you and him, I am not involved’ gesture.

“You are not giving me any alternative,” lamented the police officer.

“Hey, don’t say that. I am giving you an alternative. We can either both walk out of here and I will buy you a beer or you can throw me in the lockup. This is Friday evening so I will not be brought before a magistrate until Monday morning. That means you have me for two whole nights.”

“I don’t drink,” the police officer replied.

“What? You don’t smoke and don’t drink? What’s become of the Malaysian police force? It has certainly gone downhill from the old days. What sins do you have anyway? You must have at least one.”

“I think his sin must be that other one,” YB William butted in with a twinkle in his eyes, the first sound he had made in all that time.

"No, no, that one also no,” the police officer quickly clarified lest he receive an invitation to adjourn to Jalan Alor for some merriment.

“Look,” I said. “You either arrest me or else in five minutes I am going to stand up and walk out of here. Once I walk out of here I do not want to see your face again. I tak mahu tengok muka you lagi. Either arrest me or leave me alone for the rest of my life. Don’t disturb me anymore. And if you come to my house again I will refuse to open the door. You will have to shoot the door down to get into my house.”

“No lah. Don’t talk like that. I just have to take your statement, that’s all, or else my boss will screw me.”

“Okay, I don’t want your boss to fuck you. You look like a nice guy and we Rajas must support each other (yes, the police officer was an Indian named Raja). So I will give you five minutes to go talk to your boss to ask him what you should do while I go smoke a cigarette. In five minutes I am out of here and you will never see me again.”

Raja put me in the ‘smoking’ area of the office while he went to see his boss. In a short while another three police officers joined us and we went through the entire process again for the next two hours. Eventually they had no choice but to let me walk out of Bukit Aman without recording my statement.

Rest assured, though, this is not the end yet. They will be coming back for round two so we shall have to see what round two is going to be before we decide what is going to happen. The bottom line is, either they get off my back or they throw me in jail and throw away the key. I could not be bothered one bit what it is going to be. I am prepared for the worst. My objective is plain and simple. Altantuya’s murderers are going to be sent to hell. And I don’t mind going to hell myself to see this happen.

Good night, Bukit Aman, wherever you are.

Signing off, Raja Petra, now operating from a cyber café…… sigh.

Read the entire story here.

[Illustrations courtesy of Marvel Comics]

HELLO, IGP! WHY DON'T YOU ARREST US ALL?

Breaking news on Malaysiakini, 2 May 2008


I will attest that since November 2006 when the explosive news of Altantuya Shaariibuu's grisly murder stunned the nation and raised eyebrows around the world, there hasn't been a single person I've met and discussed the case with who has not expressed disgust and incredulity at the grotesque cover-up that has protected Defence Minister and DPM Najib Razak and his wife from being included in the police investigation and trial.

There have been a few who, not wishing to jump to hasty conclusions, have stopped short of accusing Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor of complicity in Altantuya's abduction, killing and "burial" by C4 explosives. Nevertheless, I doubt there is a single justice-loving Malaysian who does not desire to see an end to high-level cover-ups of serious crimes in this country, involving the Attorney-General's office and the Royal Malaysian Police.

This is, in fact, one of the key factors of voters' unhappiness with the Barisan Nasional administration that led to its virtual annihilation at the recent elections. Until and unless we stop playing political games by harassing whistleblowers and truthspeakers and clean up the criminal excesses that have characterized decades of BN misrule, Malaysians will not let the present administration off the hook.

I hereby publicly declare that I fully support Raja Petra Kamarudin's cyber-campaign to see justice done in the Altantuya case. Although all evidence uncovered and revealed thus far points conclusively at the Defence Minister and his wife's personal complicity in the crime, I will not say so in print. However, I would like it on the public record that I vehemently feel that Najib Razak and Rosmah Mansor must be included as key witnesses in the trial. Otherwise the public's current perception that the Altantuya trial is indeed a time-wasting merry-go-round and a travesty of justice will remain unchanged.

All talk about cleaning up our tainted judiciary will be just that and nothing more - unless something significant changes in the conduct of the Altantuya trial. Judicial reform must begin here and now with this high-profile and pivotal case.

May I suggest that the police launch an investigation against everyone in Malaysia who has publicly expressed the opinion that Najib Razak and Rosmah Mansor ought to be summoned as key witnesses and cross-examined. They would have to arrest the whole population to silence us on this issue!

Antares
~^@^~