Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Raja Petra Kamarudin - Seditious, Slanderous or Sexy?

The dictionary defines ‘sedition’s as:

1. incitement of discontent or rebellion against a government.
2. any action, in speech or writing, promoting such discontent or rebellion.

Of course this 'sedition' word is on everyone’s lips as Malaysia’s most famous blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin (RPK) of Malaysia-Today blog has been just been charged with sedition at the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court over an article he posted.

In RPK's article Let’s send the Altantuya Murderers to hell he has been accused of implying DPM Najib and his wife were involved in the killing of Altantuyaa.

His alleged insinuation has not been new because Anwar Ibrahim had also alluded to that 'connection' during the Ijok by-election, as I had blogged in The Anwar style of campaigning one year ago.

Well it seems that RPK, known for his daring, defiance and dash, plus his insider stories of UMNO misconduct and miscellaneous gossip, has gone and done it, telling what Anwar had only obliquely hinted at, an ‘alleged’ story suggesting Najib’s involvement with the Mongolian murder.

RPK has really pushed the story to … well … whether the boundaries or beyond has become the issue, and to be decided by a court who will be trialling him for a charge under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act for publishing said article.

Some extracts of RPK's inimitable post of Let’s send the Altantuya Murderers to hell are as follows:

“It seems the Affidavit also reveals that Altantuya was camped outside Razak’s house and this caused him to panic. He then went running to Najib, and Rosmah summoned Najib’s ADC, Musa Safri, and instructed him to solve Razak’s problem. Musa then summoned the two police officers currently on trial. So, it appears like Razak and the two police officers are not the only ones involved. Najib, Rosmah and Musa have also been implicated in this entire thing ...?”

“Many other ‘key issues’ raised by my non-lawyer friends, who all argued as if they were conducting the Altantuya murder trial, were matters such as how Altantuya’s immigration records could be erased from the Immigration computers, the letters Najib wrote to the Malaysian embassy supporting Altantuya’s visa application, the photograph of Altantuya, Najib, Razak and Kalimullah taken during Altantuya’s birthday party in the Mandarin Hotel in Singapore, and much more.”

“Rumour has it, and it remains just that, a rumour, is that all this ‘evidence’ has been given to Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Okay, maybe Abdullah is using this information to keep Najib in line -- which appears to be working seeing that he is constantly licking Abdullah’s hand. But this is not about politics and should not be dealt as such. This is about the Prime Minister of Malaysia withholding crucial evidence in a murder trial. Abdullah is an accessory to murder and burying evidence that will affect the outcome of the trial and interfere in seeing justice done renders Abdullah as guilty as those currently on trial and those who also should be on trial but are not.”

Well, … this ain’t no mere Anwar Ibrahim man man lai allusion or Tian Chua’s silly fake photo of a French photo. RPK has deal us the big one, the Godzilla, the Malaysian Mahabharata, even though he has cleverly euphemised it by qualifying his writings, as:

(1) But there are opinions and there are opinions -- and, just like assholes, no two are alike. So, while we value the expert opinions of our ‘learned’ legal eagles … we too have conducted our own trial by court of public opinion ...


(2) Of course, we are not at liberty to say this as this may tantamount to subjudice or contempt of court or something like that ... So I would never dare state that the Altantuya murder trial ‘a show trial in a kangaroo court’ for fear of getting sent to jail. All I am at liberty to say is that many consider the Altantuya murder trial a show-trial in a kangaroo court and leave it at that without declaring whether I too share the opinion of the majority of Malaysians (not sure whether that statement can still get me sent to jail).

(3) Rumour has it, and it remains just that, a rumour, is that all this ‘evidence’ has been given to Abdullah Ahmad Badawi ...

(4) The whispering amongst those who walk in the corridors of power is that when …

(5) Of course, since all these people are not lawyers, most of what they said is based purely on logic and not on points of law. It is actually quite ridiculous that people not tutored in matters of law would attempt to dissect and analyse the Altantuya murder trial and pass judgement as if they are trained and certified lawyers. Anyway, as I said, opinions are like assholes and everyone has one so we should not take too much notice of what my dinner friends said last night.

But tell me, has what he wrote been ‘seditious’? Has his article been promoting discontent or rebellion against a government?

That will be what the government (or rather AAB and Najib) intents to prove, though from what I have read over at my blogging mate, Susan Loone’s place, the public opinions are fairly obvious ;-)

Or, has his article just been ‘libellous’?

If so in the second category, then Najib should sue him instead of using the government legal apparatus to inflict disproportionate punitive action against RPK.

Now, Malaysiakini has reported that RPK has ratcheted up the political stakes by choosing jail over a mere RM5,000 bail over his charge. I am sure the international press will now converge on KL like flies to a murder scene (excuse the unintended pun).

kaytee opines that the government has shamefully, once again, resorted to heavy-handed draconian measures to silence its critics. If Najib believes he has been libeled, then he should seek relief at the civil court which exists for a libel suit to be taken against RPK.

I add my voice to those who have been and are calling for the release of Raja Petra Kamarudin.

15 comments:

  1. i m with you on this one.

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  2. yeah same here, it's on the thoughts of every fellow countrymen on why Sedition is being used when libel suit is suffice. So if 'we' like we are now, 'commenting' on this upcoming case, are we liable too?

    The Naj is silly and dumb in rushing into this, unless it's a setup by somebody else who wants The Naj to look bad(which he already does with the Bolehnaut, sukhois and subs scandals). That's why this buffoon should never be permitted to ascend into power.

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  3. Yup - even the non-lawyers think that it's at most a civil libel case ;o)
    Maybe the order to charge RPK is exactly to weaken Najib's position? 6 October is just prior to UMNO's Gen ASS mtg no?

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  4. their party owned police bring a man to be charge and judge in their party owned judicial system. what else can the verdict be?

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  5. Within the context of Malaysia Today, I see support that his article was seditious. The blog promotes government change, everybody knows this. And the article insinuate a 'war cry'. Suggest libelously that Najib is involved in the murder and imply that the government is protecting him. Then propose to send those involved to hell.

    Despite of that, I support that he should be charged with libel, not sedition. But he can stay in jail (if he wish to) because he is a clear suspect for libel.

    So, change the charges but keep him in jail (if he so wish).

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  6. Raja Petra need sometime to be in solitude. All this years, atleast from the 1998 reformasi period, he been an engaging person in various issues and with many quarters, and this will be abrupted for a week or two before he accepts the bail. This period will be improtant for him to reflect on his direction and move beyond a party politics parameters.

    It is my earnest hope that he transcends the PKR power politics and merely being an architect to bring PKR in power. The goal should be beyond this.

    We are still srruggling with basic problems in this country. Issues impinging us ranging from respect for basic human rights, equality for all, religious tolenrence and ofcourse, corruption. PKR coming to power will be a lesser goal for a courageous mind like RPK.

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  7. Hi Kaytee,

    All those questions RPK has posed eg the immigration records etc - many of us has also pose those questions BUT only in our mind.

    RPK is one of the few who dared to pose out loud - for that, he might have to pay severely and most unfairly too !!

    The prosecutors who should be the ones posing the questions seems very silent.

    Oops ... hope such thoughts are not considered seditious.

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  8. gan,

    i dont know where's the line anymore. whats seditious or not, its no longer in wikipedia's definition. its define by somebody else.
    by saying this, i dont even know whether it is seditious.
    Goodness, I just dont understand anymore. i am not as brave as him, thats all I can say.

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  9. Haris from http://harismibrahim.wordpress.com/
    posted a good youtube explanation about sedition:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FxI91jRtng

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  10. The police action has "Najib" fingerprints all over it. I think Najib has clumsily walked into a trap laid by....Anwar Ibrahim & RPK.

    RPK's key defence will be that what he wrote is True !
    Evidence the Patel fella successfully (so far) prevented from seeing the light of day will have its day in court. They will attempt to subpoena Najib as to be cross-examined.

    Don't get me wrong - I'm fully with RPK on this.

    For once I have to agree with Ktemoc's earlier hypothesis....heheheheheh.

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  11. G.A.N huh...except Ktemoc got it wrong as to its ultimate purpose...

    By the time this whole episode is over, Najib could well be history.

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  12. Assume for a second that George and Laura Bush's personal secret service bodyguards are involved in a gruesome murder of a foreigner, where the entry records of the victim had been erased. Do you think they would still be warming their seats in the White House?

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  13. Yes, ktemoc whta's your answer here.

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  14. Jib is following Lah's leadership. Certainly he can't sue RPK as that would bring him directly into the picture and the public will connect the imaginary dots, like it or not. So elegant silence is the best way to go at the moment, until after the transition at least.

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  15. Sex and the C4

    Sodomy is a useful word
    recently said and heard,
    in Malaysian homes and offices
    it’s all about famous orifices.
    What is going on, you wonder
    when Bala steals the thunder,
    finger pointing the magic word
    to the delight of a horny herd
    Organs united, names forgotten?
    VIPs are really rotten
    Saiful he knows and did not know
    doubts about Aminah begin to grow
    of whose loose lips he was afraid
    but liked her other end instead;
    of course he knew it wasn't right
    but it felt so good and tight!
    You could not hump like Greeks
    the Hindenburg’s fat cheeks;
    what her hubby found so succulent
    was making Rosmah trucculent.
    And so she thought, the time was due
    for a nice Mongolian barbecue.
    Enter the analyst, not so anal,
    who found the girl too banal;
    fearing supernatural harm
    from her juicy feminine charm,
    he hired Bala straightaway
    to keep the honeytrap at bay
    but private dicks were of no match
    for Aminah's superlative snatch
    and now that Najib had had his fill,
    he would not share the till;
    right after the submarine deal,
    Aminah's fate he would seal.
    Now Rosmah had one idea
    on how to kenakan dia
    "Let’s bomb the bombshell,
    let's send her to hell."
    Thus perished the hapless beauty
    after translation and booty duty;
    now Rosmah’s ass was happy
    until one blogger got yappy;
    this Hindenburg nearly caught fire
    yet to sue she has no desire.
    But Najib's part in this murder
    will travel much further;
    despite his media actions
    and one or two retractions,
    some questions will remain
    a big part of his bane–
    how did Altantuya really die?
    and why did he have to lie?
    Did he pay off Bala savvily,
    or threaten to C4 his family?
    What acts could be more despised?
    With his money, we’re not surprised;
    after all, he's such a bully beast,
    to him and him alone, at least,
    magic words that cannot apply–
    are useful for making rivals die.

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