KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 — A prominent political blogger was jailed for two years under a strict security law that can keep him in prison indefinitely, a lawyer said today.
Online commentator Raja Petra Kamarudin, known for his anti-government views, was already in police custody and was served a detention order last night, said his lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar.
Another of his lawyers, J. Chandra, confirmed that Raja Petra has been sent to Kamunting under Section 8(1) of the ISA which states that "if the Minister is satisfied that the detention of any person is necessary with a view to preventing him from acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of Malaysia or any part thereof or to the maintenance of essential services therein or the economic life thereof, he may make an order (hereinafter referred to as a detention order) directing that the person be detained for any period not exceeding two years."
The order was signed by Home Minister Datuk Syed Hamid Albar, who has said Raja Petra's writings pose a threat to national security by creating racial tension.
Raja Petra’s wife Marina Lee Abdullah said today: "The police informed me that my husband has been sent to Kamunting this morning and that he will remain there for two years with no trial. This is the worst news I can receive but we will keep fighting for his release."
"This is dirty foul play by the government as they know that we are in the process of fighting for his release in the court but I was expecting this," she said. However, it is understood that the authorities will allow Marina access to Raja Petra for 45 minutes tomorrow. Marina said: "I'm seeing Pete tomorrow."
Raja Petra's lawyers were pushing for his release in a habeas corpus hearing today but Marina said the detention order had upset their plans. The habeas corpus hearing, meanwhile, has been postponed to Oct 28 after preliminary objections from the DPP against the defence application that with the new order under Section 8 of the ISA served on Raja Petra today, it was no longer relevant to rely on the earlier application filed under Section 73 (1).
Chandra said the defence would be filing a fresh application against the Section 8 order.
Raja Petra has increasingly infuriated authorities by publishing numerous claims about alleged wrongdoings by government leaders on his popular site, Malaysia-Today, which serves as his blog as well as a news portal. The government has denounced most of Raja Petra's allegations as lies.
Raja Petra was arrested on Sept 12 under the Internal Security Act, which allows an initial detention of two months for investigation, followed by a two-year jail period that can be renewed indefinitely.
He will be held at the Kamunting Detention Centre in Perak. The centre houses detainees held under the security law, most of whom are suspected Islamic extremists.
Raja Petra's arrest triggered widespread protests by civil society groups, lawyers and other online commentators. Along with Raja Petra, authorities also arrested an opposition lawmaker and a journalist on Sept 12, but they were released subsequently.
The ISA is a holdover from British colonial days, when it was used against communist insurgents. Independent Malaysia's post-colonial government has kept it in the statute books and has used it sparingly against political dissidents, ignoring calls from opposition groups and others to disband the law. — Agencies
Home Minister signed order, court toldKUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 - Blogger Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin's application seeking release from detention under section 73 (1) of the Internal Security Act (ISA) is academic because the Home Minister had signed an order to detain him under section 8 (1), the High Court here heard today.
Senior federal counsel Abdul Wahab Mohamad said Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Syed Albar signed the order yesterday to detain Raja Petra at the Kamunting detention camp for two years.In his preliminary objection, he said that with the fresh detention order under Section 8(1) becoming operative, Raja Petra's detention was no longer under the purview of the Inspector-General of Police as stated in the notice of motion filed on Sept 16.
"We submit that any issues that transpired before the issuance of the detention cannot be subject to judicial inquiry," he said.
The main issue of the applicant had become purely academic, he said, urging the court to dismiss the application.
Raja Petra was detained on Sept 12 and filed a habeas corpus application seeking his release from ISA detention on the grounds that the detention was unlawful and contravened the Federal Constitution. He named the Inspector-General of police and the Kamunting Detention Camp as respondents.
Section 73(1) allows a person to be held for up to 60 days without trial for the police to investigate and make their recommendations to the minister.
Raja Petra's counsel, Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, said he was just informed about his client's detention under the minister's order.
"Our application definitely has bearing and definitely afects his liberty provided under the Federal Constitution," he said.
He said that even though he would file an application to challenge the minister's order, he wanted the court to hear the habeas corpus application since it still involved "life issues".
Justice Suraya Othman said that since the application had been overtaken by events, she fixed Oct 28 for both parties to make further submissions before the court decided whether to hear further on the matter.
On the habeas corpus application by Seputeh member of parliament Teresa Kok Suh Sim, who was detained under the ISA on the same day but has since been released, Suraya said the court could not be give any remedy since the matter too had been overtaken by events.
Kok's counsel, Karpal Singh, said that even though he was not asking the court to make any ruling, it should make some comment and go on public record on this detention issue to ensure that the authorities did not continue to abuse the Act.
Suraya said the court was bound by the Federal Court's ruling that the court could not make any comment since the matter had become academic and the applicant had other remedies like civil action. Kok was freed last Friday. - Bernama
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