Not many politicians let alone normal citizens who are willing to go to jail because they believe in the principle of truth and justice. One of the politicians, Lim Guan Eng, who is now the Chief Minister of Penang definitely earned the respect from many people when he was sentenced to 3 years of imprisonment in 1998 following his criticism of the rape of a 15-year-old Malay schoolgirl by former Chief Minister of the State of Malacca, Abdul Rahim Tamby Chik. He has been found guilty of sedition – “prompting disaffection with the administration of justice” and “maliciously printing false information”.

The poor girl was taken into “protective custody” for questioning by the police and allegedly denied access to members of her family. She was later transferred by the courts to a rehabilitation centre for “wayward girls” for three years despite continued efforts by her grandmother to secure her release. Although Tamby Chik was forced to resign over the scandal, interestingly no charges have been brought against him for the rape while the corruption charges have been dropped by the Attorney General due to, you guess it, insufficient evidence.

Today, the country has yet another individual who might be sent to jail for the same reason – defending a Mongolian lady by the name of Altantuya Shaaribuu, whose remains were destroyed with C4 explosives. Everything started when the outspoken Raja Petra Kamarudin, the editor of MalaysiaToday, wrote an “Let’s send the Altantuya murderers to hell” which implicated Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife, Rosmah, in the murder of the 28-year-old Mongolian interpreter. He was charged under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act for publishing the allegedly seditious article.

Hearing has been fixed from 6 to 10 Oct and Raja Petra was granted a bail of RM5,000 but surprisingly he refused bail, deciding instead to remain in custody until the hearing date. If found guilty, Raja Petra could be jailed for a maximum of three years and/or face a fine of up to RM5,000. Although an immediate campaign to raise RM5,000 to bail him out has amazingly exceeded the amount required to a whopping RM24,500 (local bank account) and US$3,282.61 (paypal), the stubborn bald-head Raja Petra chose to go to jail. Raja Petra said that he was a victim of political persecution and said “I knew this was coming … They are going to find ways and excuses to charge me but these are stupid excuses … Once they charge me, we will show that there is no evidence against me.”

 

“He further told Associated Press “I am not posting bail. See you guys in October … I will be out for Christmas. Don’t worry …I am happy. We bloggers have declared war on the government. We are not scared of the government. The government should be scared of us … Is it seditious to influence people against corrupt leaders? There is nothing seditious … Do you think I do not have evidence?”

Photo: MalaysiaKini

It was reported that Raja Petra is being defended by 7 lawyers led by Karpal Singh. Interestingly this is not the first time but the fourth since the authorities tried to use the Seditious Act on Raja Petra – the first was in 2001, second in 2004, third in 2007 and the fourth today. Talking about the article posted, I think the “Guilty” one should just laugh at it instead of abusing the Seditious Act to intimidate the blogger, unless of course there’re some truths to it. By taking Raja Petra’s bait now (charging him) it is tantamount to announce to the whole world that “Look! This guy is cute enough to say I blew off a Mongolian using C4, how ridiculous could that be. Please don’t believe him”.

In the blogosphere world, this link-baiting is simply the greatest way to attract traffic or eyeballs, silly. Nevertheless I’m sure Raja Petra fans will definitely go crazy waiting till Oct, provided he could get out in one piece, for his famous “The Corridors of Power” and “No Holds Barred” section. But I guess what Raja Petra has to spill especially the so-called “evidence” he claimed to have regarding the article would probably blow many heads off when the trial starts, again provided there would be one. Life would be super boring without the “entertainment.”

Other Articles That May Interest You …

• Walk With RPK : One Ringgit One Person
• My reply to Datuk Tengku Sariffuddin Tengku Ahmad
• Towering Malays and the ‘hush’ on Peace Hill
• Let’s send the Altantuya murderers to hell
• Raja Petra’s Wife tight-lipped – What’s Next?
• The War between Bloggers and Government Peaks
• Major Crackdown on Malaysia Political Bloggers Started?

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May 6th, 2008 by financetwitter

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