Arrest warrant out on blogger Raja Petra

In a move that may signal the start of Prime Minister Najib Razak’s crackdown against dissent over his power grab in Perak state and the rising public misgivings over his alleged involvement in the Altantuya Shaariibuu commission-and-murder case, a warrant of arrest was issued to the country’s most popular blogger, Raja Petra Kamarudin.

The Sessions Court issued the arrest warrant after Raja Petra, who has published a series of scorching revelations about Najib’s misdeeds, failed to turn up for his sedition case.

The former Internal Security Act detainee had on May 6 2008 claimed trial to publishing a seditious article on his Malaysia Today news portal on April 25 the same year.

Raja Petra, or RPK as he is also known, was accused of publishing the article Let’s send the Altantuya murderers to hell on the website www.malaysia-today.net.

Charged under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948, he can be fined a maximum of RM5,000 or three years’ jail or both upon conviction.

Banished, Altantuya and even treason

In his latest blog posting, RPK explained in detail why he did not turn up in court. Having angered his cousin, the Sultan of Selangor, for having written an allegedly treasonous letter involving the Perak Sultan, he has had to go into exile.

“This has always been the punishment for any member of the Selangor Royal Family who is considered durhaka since the beginning of the Selangor Sultanate more than 250 years ago. My grandfather, Sultan Musa, was in fact subjected to that same punishment and it is the only punishment befitting a member of the Selangor Royal Family who has courted the displeasure of the Palace,” RPK said.

He also lashed out at the authorities for plotting his imprisonment and denying Malaysians the right to information and freedom of expression. Of late, the government has been assiduous in clamping down on media coverage regarding Altantuya, the pregnant 28-tear old translator who was murdered in this country in 2006.

Last week, it ordered four TV stations not to mention the names of Razak Baginda, a close associate of Najib’s, the prime minister himself and his wife Rosmah Mansor, in their coverage of her murder case. Razak and Altantuya were reportedly the go-betweens for a 114 million euros commission paid by French shipbuilder Armaris for Malaysia’s purchase of three high-tech submarines

Said RPK: “Why are the police looking for me? Two months ago, the Federal Court was in a hurry to hear the appeal against my release from ISA detention. After impatiently rejecting all our applications and refusing to allow us time to file the necessary papers, the court suddenly went cold and nothing was heard from it since.

“This got me very suspicious. I did some checking and have reason to believe that a new detention order has been issued and that is why the police are looking for me. If I were to turn up in court today I would never be allowed to leave. The police would immediately detain me and send me to Kamunting and this time I shall not be so fortunate as to see freedom in two months like in the last two occasions.”

Courtesy Of Suara Keadilan