8 Nov, 2008
"Malaysia Today" website operator and blogger Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin said he was surprised with the High Court's decision here to release him from ISA (Internal Security Act) detention.
He said not many people had succeeded in their application to challenge the detention under Section 8 of the ISA.
"Therefore, I had not placed high hopes in being released early. It was 50-50," he said when met by reporters after High Court judge Datuk Syed Ahmad Helmy Syed Ahmad ordered his relase at 3.20pm today.
Asked about his feelings, Raja Petra who was surrounded by his supporters, said, "I'm just too tired."
Asked about the lesson he learned from his ISA detention, he said the court's decision showed that the ISA could not be used for a political motive.
"I suppose we have to fight all out to get the ISA abolished. I'm not a terrorist. I'm not a dangerous person. I'm just a writer," he said.
Raja Petra who was accompanied by his wife Mable @ Marina Lee then left the court grounds in a Rolls Royce with the registration number, WNT 71.
Earlier, the blogger who was clad in jeans and brown T-shirt, arrived in a white van at the court complex at 3.15pm accompanied by five officers from the Kamunting Detention Centre in Perak.
He had been taken out of the centre at 11.30 a.m.
He was welcomed at the court grounds by his wife and their two daughters, Suraya, 34, and Sarah, 19, and about 100 supporters wearing T-shirts with the words "I'm With RPK" printed on them, and repeatedly shouting "RPK".
Some also carried banners that read, "We Want Our Rights", "No to ISA" and "Free RPK. Abolish ISA."
Joy was clearly written on Raja Petra's face as he hugged his wife tight.
About 50 photographers from local and foreign media jostled to snap pictures of the beaming blogger who made the thumbs-up sign. (Bernama)
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