‘I want you home’ Raja Petra

Thursday May 8, 2008 MYT 6:28:43 PM

‘I want you home’ note helped change Raja Petra’s mind

By M. MAGESWARI

PETALING JAYA: “I want you home”. These four words from his wife helped Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Kamarudin to change his mind and agree to bail being posted.

His wife Marina Lee Abdullah, 54, said she had sent a note with the words via a prison warder on Wednesday. He had refused to allow any visitors after being taken to the Sungai Buloh Prison on Tuesday.

“My note helped him agree to bail being posted,” she told reporters after handing over her bank passbook for RM5,000 to a Petaling Jaya Sessions Court interpreter at 2pm to process bail application for her spouse.

The mother of five said she was also relieved that Raja Petra, 58, was fine despite declining prison food for a day.

“I met him at 11am at Sungai Buloh Prison for 10 minutes. He told me on the telephone that he wanted to be out on bail,” she said.

Marina said Raja Petra also confirmed that he had a drink earlier in the morning.

“I did not waste much time there and rushed to the court to expedite the process of bail application,” she said.

She said her husband, who had on Tuesday claimed trial to sedition, only complained of having a backache.

Asked why Raja Petra had refused to see her twice on Wednesday, she said it could be because she could have dampened his resolve to refuse all meals.

Marina said that so far, RM44,000 (including the RM5,000 withdrawn for his bail) had been collected via a specially set up CIMB bank account through an online campaign.

“We will let Raja Petra decide what to do with the balance of the money. I heard another blogger will be given RM3,000 for his bail,” she added.

“There is general consensus for the money to be kept for other bloggers who may face any problem like this. We will also probably ask his readers to vote on what do with the money they had contributed.”

Marina also said that a bank officer contributed a ringgit to her husband's bail fund when she was at an EON Bank branch to open a new account for Raja Petra as his bailor.

“I heard from my childhood friend that well-wishers from the court and others had given a ringgit each to raise RM152 for him,” she added.

At the court office, Marina filled up and passed the bail documents to an interpreter to process.

Sessions Court judge Nurmala Salim issued an order to produce Raja Petra today for his release.

He will be released Friday after he signs documents for his release at the court's bail counter.

His lawyer J. Chandra said Raja Petra would be brought to the court for his release at 9.45am.

“I met the judge in her chambers with a senior police officer at 2.30pm to try to expedite his release but she told me that they had to follow certain procedures,” he said.

Press Statement : Penang Chief Minister YAB Lim Guan Eng

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak Convinces No One By Saying That The Government Is Liberal And That Sedition Charges Against Blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin Is Not Politically Motivated When RPK Was Charged After Najib And His Wife Objected Against His Allegations Linking Them To The Altatunya Murder Trial.

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak convinces no one by saying that the government is liberal and that sedition charges against blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin is not politically motivated when RPK was charged after Najib and his wife objected against his allegations linking them to the Altatunya Shaariibuu murder trial. With RPK being charged so soon after both of them objected to so called slanderous remarks online, the public can not be faulted for thinking that these charges were a directed act of vengeance.

On 2 May 2008 the Deputy Prime Minister’s press secretary Datuk Tengku Sariffuddin Tengku Ahmad wrote in a letter to Malaysia Today that Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak will not hesitate to seek legal redress over unfounded and unfair allegations made against him in the case involving murdered Mongolian woman Altantuya. This follows Najib’s wife statement on 1 May against slanderous remarks against her. Despite such warnings of civil action of defamation, Najib has still not sued RPK who instead faced criminal charges of sedition.

This latest infringement of rights may be the beginning of Barisan Nasional’s crackdown on media freedom. This will also set a frightening precedent against online expression that will further erode media freedom in this country despite promises by the BN government.

DAP condemns the arrest of blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin, the editor of the internet news portal Malaysia Today, under the Sedition Act, and demands for his immediate release as well as withdrawal of charges. DAP hopes that all journalists and media associations can come out in solidarity and support for RPK by condemning RPK’s sedition charges.

We know that Raja Petra - who is charged with implying in a post on April 25 that Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his wife were involved in the murder of a Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu - has been one of the vocal critics of the BN government and its cronies.

On the same day the posting was made (April 25) Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek told the press that media freedom should not be feared by anyone, including the ruling party, as it could also be the source of strength for the government and the country. Ahmad Shabery even said that the reform announced by Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi recently such as the setting up of a judicial commission and introducing an Anti-Corruption Commission could be implemented more effectively in a free media environment.

Even Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar promised that he would review the country's repressive media laws to boost press freedom. “I have told my officers that I want to have a re-look at the Printing Presses and Publications Act so that we can move with the times,” he said, according to the Star on April 20.

Syed Hamid went further when he said, “We need press freedom in order for us to have a check and balance in government. We are not trying to control you but we want everyone to contribute to the nation-building process. Why should we let ourselves (government) become unpopular by having such regulations?”

The sad truth about this deteriorating situation pertaining to our press and other media is due to Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s too many promises which he failed to deliver since he became Prime Minister in late 2003. After the recent political tsunami on 8 March 2008, it is now proven that talk is cheap.

Such empty promises also demonstrate that BN is not capable of reform, that BN can never accept criticisms and will always resort to repressive laws against the interest of the people.

Another anti-freedom attitude displayed by BN leaders is when Najib yesterday (May 7) inferred that the Attorney-General can decide whether action can taken against DAP chairman Karpal Singh for questioning the transfer and reappointment of the Perak Islamic Religious Affairs Department (JAIP) director. Malaysia is facing international condemnation and widespread public anger for charging RPK. Najib is strongly advised not to apply the same tactics of sedition used towards RPK on Karpal who is the National Chair of DAP.

When criticisms are perceived as threatening stability and public order, this means the BN government will never ever learn from the lesson of the March 8 political tsunami. While the voters are giving BN a second chance, its leaders are more interested in bullying the voice of conscience and the voice of the oppressed.

DAP demands that BN government immediately stop harassing bloggers, journalists and federal opposition leaders and supporters who are merely acting as good citizens in exposing wrongdoings of government leaders.


LIM GUAN ENG

An Open Letter to RPK

Tonight, another vigil will be held at the Dataran Merdeka.

Dear Pete,

Yesterday morning (May 7), civil society groups and your fellow bloggers met the press and issued a statement which noted that “the sedition charge is malicious and without merit. It is also politically motivated and aimed at silencing a principled and uncompromising voice speaking against the abuse of power, including that stemming from the highest level of government and authority.”

Further, we urged "the Government to re-consider its action in pursuing what is being perceived in the country and internationally as blatantly selective and repressive persecution. The action not only runs counter to the Government’s expressed promotion of a democratic, informed and participatory society. It also smacks of a renewal of the tactics of fear and intimidation which were recently resoundingly rejected by the Malaysian electorate. We are disappointed that, despite the Government’s rhetoric of learning from its past mistakes, it continues to rely on heavy handed authoritarian means to instill fear and to discourage its citizens from freely engaging in public discourse."

Yesterday night, a group of some 300 concerned Malaysians from all walks of life, mainly young people, gathered at the main entrance area of Sungei Buloh Prison in a vigil in support of your release.

Tonight, another vigil will be held at the Dataran Merdeka.

We feel an important point has been made by you that Malaysians need to stand up for their legitimate rights and freedoms - whatever the personal cost - if society is to change for the better.

We feel though that the time has come for you to come out and to continue your struggle outside the prison walls. We hope you can consider our appeal – and that of fellow bloggers, friends and supporters – for you to emerge from your incarceration without further delay. ”

Press Statement issued jointly by:

1. Dr Lim Teck Ghee, Director of Centre for Policy Initiatives (CPI)
2. Ahirudin Attan, President of Interim Council, National Alliance of Bloggers
3. Wong Chin Huat, Chairperson of Writer Alliance for Media Independence (WAMI)
4. Gayathry V., Executive Director of Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ)
5. Ser Choon Ing, Chairman of Civil Rights Committee, KL and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall
6. Ho Yock Lin, Director of Empower (Pusat Janadaya)
7. Irene Xavier, Presidentof Persatuan Sahabat Wanita Selangor
8. Dzul Bahrin, Citizen Think Tank
   

May 8, 2008