RPK quizzed, lodges police report over ISA arrest

November 18, 2008

Iran - A Blogger’s Arrest Is Reported

A Web site affiliated with the Iranian Intelligence Ministry has reported that a high-profile blogger, Hossein Derakhshan, was also arrested this month and accused of spying for Israel. Judiciary officials have not confirmed his arrest but the Web site, Jahan News, reported that he had confessed to spying for Israel.

.Mr. Derakhshan, an Iranian-Canadian, had lived in Canada since 2000 but moved back to Tehran a few weeks ago. He traveled to Israel in 2007 and wrote about it on his blog.  .  source : nyt

Balasubramaniam’s Statutory Declaration revisited

The Federal Constitution of Malaysia does not state that the Umno President must become the Prime Minister of Malaysia. What it does say is that the Agong must appoint a Member of the House (one of the 222 Members of Parliament) who commands the confidence of the majority of the Members of the House as the Prime Minister.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Balasubramaniam a/l Perumal signed the following Statutory Declaration on Tuesday, 1 July 2008. On Wednesday, 2 July 2008, I spent about six hours with him from 6.00pm to midnight where he not only repeated what he said in his Statutory Declaration but much more, which he said would be fully revealed in part 2 and part 3 of his Statutory Declarations that would follow over the next few days. There were six people with us at that meeting, that included three lawyers.

On Thursday, 3 July 2008, Balasubramaniam held a press conference at the Parti Keadilan Rakyat headquarters in Merchant Square, Tropicana. After that press conference we had lunch with about 20 people or so, which included members of the media, and an elated Subramanian told us to wait for SD2 and SD3, which are going to be more explosive than his first Statutory Declaration.

Of course, SD2 and SD3 never happened because on Friday, 4 July 2008, Balasubramaniam signed another Statutory Declaration recanting what he said in his Statutory Declaration of 1 July.

My lawyers tell me that what Balasubramaniam told us on 2 July 2008 is hearsay and therefore not admissible as evidence in a court of law. This means I am not at liberty to reveal what Balasubramaniam told us. It’s a shame really because the story would make a great Bollywood movie script.

On Monday, 24 November 2008, my ‘criminal defamation’ trial will kick off at the Jalan Duta court. This is with regards to my own Statutory Declaration that I signed in April 2008. I have lined up about a dozen or so witnesses who will confirm, amongst others, what I said in my Statutory Declaration, plus of course much more not revealed in that Statutory Declaration of mine.

I am actually looking forward to this trial because this will give my dozen witnesses and me an opportunity to reveal what we cannot say under normal circumstances. Let us see, after this trial commences, whether Malaysians would still want Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to resign in March 2009. My suspicion is most Malaysians would regard Pak Lah as the ‘lesser of the two evils’ and will beg him to stay on till the end of his term on midnight of 7 March 2013.

By the way, the Federal Constitution of Malaysia does not state that the Umno President must become the Prime Minister of Malaysia. What it does say is that the Agong must appoint a Member of the House (one of the 222 Members of Parliament) who commands the confidence of the majority of the Members of the House as the Prime Minister. And Pak Lah already has 82 Pakatan Rakyat Members of Parliament with him plus 20 from Umno. All he needs is ten more and MCA, MIC and Gerakan have 20 combined. So, even without the Sabah and Sarawak Parliamentarians, Pak Lah can still remain as Prime Minister of Malaysia.

That is the reality of the situation and this is what the law says. So let us not celebrate the new regime of Najib Tun Razak just yet as it may not happen after all. One week is a long time in politics, let alone four months. So many things can happen. And there are many things that are going to happen over these next four months even if they win their appeal against my release from Internal Security Act detention and succeed in sending me back to Kamunting.

THE STATUTORY DECLARATION

BALA ‘U-TURN’ AND RAJA ‘NO-TURN’

I was told that Raja Petra is working on a second Statutory Declaration or Affidavit in preparation for his trial that will confirm many things not said in the first Statutory Declaration -- which is the basis of his criminal defamation charge. The second Affidavit will be naming names of very senior personalities who walk in the corridors of power and who hold titles such as Tun and Tan Sri.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

The Pink Panther

The following news item titled ‘Missing PI and blogger figure in Altantuya murder trial’ was published in The Malaysian Insidertoday. Malaysia Today’s new The Corridors of Power columnist -- who has taken over this column, together with M. Bakri Musa who started writing for this column soon after Raja Petra was detained under ISA -- talks about what is really behind the missing private investigator mystery.

Missing PI and blogger figure in Altantuya murder trial

The Malaysian Insider

A missing private investigator and a blogger, both of whom had implicated Deputy Premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the case of a murdered Mongolian woman, are being sought as defence witnesses in the trial. The case could become a political hot potato when it resumes in January, as investigator P. Balasubramaniam and blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin have made controversial allegations about Najib and the victim, Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Balasubramaniam had alleged that Najib had sexual relations with her, while Raja Petra claimed that Najib's wife was present when Altantuya's body was blown up with explosives. Her remains were found in a jungle clearing outside Kuala Lumpur in 2006.

This case, with its brew of politics, sex and murder, gripped Malaysia after the Deputy Premier's close associate, Abdul Razak Baginda, was charged with instructing two policemen to kill Altantuya. Abdul Razak, who said Altantuya was his former lover, was acquitted recently but policemen Sirul Azhar Umar and Azilah Hadri have been ordered to make their defence.

Najib, expected to become Malaysia's premier next March, has repeatedly denied knowing Altantuya but the scandal has continued to dog him. His Umno party has stood solidly behind him. When its divisions completed making their nominations for the party presidency last weekend, they overwhelmingly chose Najib except for one other nominee, Kelantan prince Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. So far, there has been no proof to link Najib to this case.

Balasubramaniam has been missing for the last few months since he retracted the allegations he made against Najib. "The investigating officer has said he is trying to trace where he is. We do not know his whereabouts," defence lawyer Kamarul Hisham, who represents Sirul Azhar, told the court yesterday.

He also said he wants Raja Petra to testify about his statutory declaration in which he claimed that Najib's wife, Rosmah Mansor, was present when explosives were placed on Altantuya. He said he was trying to contact the blogger, who was released last week after being detained under the Internal Security Act. Raja Petra was in another court yesterday, facing a sedition charge over a blog posting implicating Najib in the Altantuya case.

Lawyer Hazman Ahmad, who represents Azilah, plans to call Najib's senior security aide as a witness. According to court evidence, it was the aide, Musa Safri, who introduced Azilah to Abdul Razak after the latter sought his help, saying that Ms Altantuya had been harassing him. Neither Najib nor Abdul Razak are expected to be called as a witness.

The lead prosecutor, Tun Majid Hamzah, said that the prosecution has up to Friday to file an appeal against the acquittal of Abdul Razak. It has not decided whether to do so.

As much as they are trying to suggest that Bala ‘U-turn’ is ‘missing’, and some say he is in hiding in India, the truth is he is very much in Malaysia; at Bukit Tinggi to be exact. At least this is what my ‘little bird’ tells me. And if you want to know exactly where in Bukit Tinggi he is hiding, then ask the man whom I will, at this point of time, call ‘the Indian Carpet-man’.

Yes, that’s right, the ‘Indian Carpet-man’ knows where Bala ‘U-turn’ is hiding because he is the one who is hiding the missing private investigator in Bukit Tinggi. And he has paid Bala ‘U-turn’ RM3 million to remain in hiding until further notice.

The ‘Indian Carpet-man’, who I shall certainly name in due course when the time is right, works for Rosmah Mansor, the wife of Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. The ‘Indian Carpet-man’ is Rosmah’s ‘bagman’ and he is in charge of carrying hard cash to and from the Deputy Prime Minister’s house in Jalan Duta. He of course makes a lot more money acting as Rosmah’s ‘bagman’ compared to selling carpets and could easily pass as a Bollywood star to those who did not know any better.

The latest news is that later today the AG's Chambers is going to subpoena Raja Petra's lawyer, J. Chandra, to testify in court in Raja Petra's criminal defamation trial. This is a sneaky move to disqualify Chandra from acting as Raja Petra’s lawyer in his trial, which will commence on 24th November 2008. As for Raja Petra, it is not known yet if he is going to be subpeonaed to testify in the Altantuya murder trial and whether he is going to be a hostile witness, which therefore may actually jeopardise Sirul and Azilah’s case and strengthen the prosecution’s case against them. It makes one wonder whether Sirul’s and Azilah’s lawyer are acting for their clients or for the prosecution.

Raja Petra cheekily said that he will agree to testify in the trial only if Sirul and Azilah publicly apologise for threatening him when he spent three days in the Sungai Buloh Prison. Sirul and Aziah deny threatening Raja Petra who insists that it was made in front of a very senior prison officer named Thana. Thana, in fact, phoned Raja Petra’s wife, Marina, and asked her to come to the prison to try to persuade Raja Petra to accept bail and leave prison because they were worried about his safety. Marina, in tears, begged Raja Petra to agree to bail and the sight of his wife crying away softened him and prompted him to agree to bail.

I was told that Raja Petra is working on a second Statutory Declaration or Affidavit in preparation for his trial that will confirm many things not said in the first Statutory Declaration -- which is the basis of his criminal defamation charge. The second Affidavit will be naming names of very senior personalities who walk in the corridors of power and who hold titles such as Tun and Tan Sri. Raja Petra appears to be going for broke and seems bent on bringing down as many people with him as he possibly can if he were to suffer a fall.

When the press asked him, minutes after he was released from ISA detention last Friday, his opinion with regards to Najib taking over as Prime Minister in March 2009, Raja Petra replied with confidence, and of course very cheekily, that he does not care about Najib taking over in March 2009 because Anwar Ibrahim will instead be taking over in December 2008. Was he just being cheeky or does he know something the rest of us do not?

Just as we thought the plot had already thickened it thickens even more. I, for one, can’t wait to name the ‘Indian Carpet-man’ but you will have to remain patient a while longer while we see how the ‘other side’ reacts before I throw one more card onto the table. And this card will certainly not be the Joker from the pack but a very strong Ace that is going to make the Altantuya murder trial more interesting than it already is.

Malaysia-Today

I am a Malay, and proud of it.

It is time the crutches are removed and the Malays learned how to walk with their heads held up high. Malays have to be made to believe that the Ketuanan Melayu and the NEP is an insult and that is suggests Malays are weak creature

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Religious superstition and persecution never ceases to amaze me. Take the case of Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow of Mogadishu, Somalia. On 27th October 2008, 13-year old Aisha was killed. She was killed when 1,000 people stoned her to death. And she was stoned to death because three men had raped her. She was raped, so they accused of adultery.

Imagine a 13-year old girl killed in a most brutal manner because she was raped by three men. Should it not be the three men who should have instead been stoned to death? And do you not wonder why Islam suffers from a serious image problem? Muslims should take stock of what they are doing and understand the disservice they are doing to Islam.

Our religious rehabilitation by the Kamunting detention camp started on the Tuesday after Deepavali. The highlight of the sessions was the “nasi tomato” and the chicken wing in a plastic bag that they served for lunch, courtesy of JAKIM but paid for by the Malaysian taxpayers, 90% who are Chinese.

The JAKIM ustaz told us that Islam is the true religion and that all other religions are false. We were reminded not to believe in or follow other religions, which are not accepted and recognized by God. Only the Koran is the true Holy Book and was sent to us by God through the Prophet Muhammad. All other books are false and were created by man and did not come from God.

We must also not copy or ape the non-Muslims as that will lead us astray and we will become an apostate if we act like the kafir. He did not, however, give any examples on what would be considered acting like a kafir.

In the meantime, in another incident that happened outside the Kamunting detention camp, an UKM lecturer explained that Muslims should not do yoga or meditate, as the origin of this is Hinduism. Muslims who do yoga or meditate would be led astray, argued the wise man from UKM. He then asked the religious scholars to come out with a fatwa or decree banning Muslims from doing yoga or meditating.

It is ironical that the JAKIM ustaz who visited Kamunting chose that subject matter to kick off our religious rehabilitation program. The article that got me into trouble with the government and which resulted in my detention under the Internal Security Act said exactly the same thing. I pointed out that the Friday prayer sermons run down the other religions. I also argued that we are told not to ape the non-Muslims or take them as our friends as the non-Muslims are sworn enemies of Islam and can never be our friends. For that I was detained under the Internal Security Act and my first lecture happened to be the very thing I said and which got me detained.

There are in fact many things which Malays do and which originated from Hinduism. Take the stringing up of coloured lights as one example. Seven days before Hari Raya Malays would string up coloured lights around their home, sometimes even on trees like they do during Christmas. This is a throwback of the old days when they used to use kerosene or oil lamps. And this was a custom borrowed from Deepavali because the Arabs do not do this.

So, the next time you pass by a Malay house during Hari Raya and you see all those coloured lights you can smile, knowing that the occupant of that house is borrowing a Hindu ritual -- only that he or she does not know it.

If we really want to go into the long list of Hindu customs and rituals that the Malays have borrowed the list would be endless. We should not ape the kafir, the religious scholars tell us. If not we would become a kafir. Well, what about wearing a tie, coat and pants? Is this not a kafir attire?

How many Malays go about wearing a robe and turban? Even that UKM lecturer who wants a fatwa issued banning Malays from doing yoga or meditation wears kafir clothes. Look at all the Malay government officers. They all wear kafir clothes and sometimes a tie as well. The security forces all wear kafir uniforms with a kafir hat on their heads.

We count our days using a Christian calendar. I am facing various charges for crimes I committed on certain days of the Christian calendar. What was the day of the Islamic calendar, the Hijrah calendar, that I committed my crimes? The charge sheet does not say.

I am facing various charges in a kafir court. The charges I am facing are crimes according to kafir laws. I was also under detention without trial according to a kafir law. In fact, according to Islam, I have not committed any crime. And Islam does not allow for detention without trial.

For that matter not only have I not committed a crime, according to Islam, but what I have done is what Islam has actually made mandatory. Islam makes it mandatory for all Muslims to perform “Amar Makruf, Nahi Munkar”. This means to uphold good and oppose evil. All Muslims must do this without exception. Not doing it, according to Islam, makes you an extremely weak Muslim.

I, however, am now facing trial and was under detention without trial for performing my Islamic duty. And kafir laws, not Islamic laws, are being used against me. Kafir laws are being used against Muslims for doing what Islam has made mandatory.

And what is the reaction of Muslims to all this? What is the UKM lecturer doing about it? Is he up in arms about the kafir system being implemented against Islam? Is the Member of Parliament for Kulim demonstrating on the streets and screaming, “I am a Muslim first I don’t care about other people’s opinions”?

Okay, the UKM lecturer wants yoga and meditation banned and the Kulim MP wants to shut the mouths of anyone who wants to talk about Islam. But that is about it. It never goes beyond that,

Sometimes the Malays can be amazing. Okay, not sometimes, most times. Now UMNO wants Zaid Ibrahim sacked as a Malay. Can any Malay actually be sacked as a Malay? I wonder, but UMNO thinks it can be done. UMNO says that Zaid would be nobody -- he would not be a lawyer of the biggest law firm in Malaysia -- if he was not a Malay and the country did not have Ketuanan Melayu and the New Economic Policy.

Zaid thinks that that is an insult. He would like to believe he is what he is because he is Zaid and because he is smart. If he would instead be a simple fisherman in Tumpat, Kelantan, without the benefit of Ketuanan Melayu and the NEP, then this means Zaid is actually quite stupid.

I share Zaid’s view. I also would like to believe that I am “somebody” and “special” because I am Raja Petra. If it is because of Ketuanan Melayu and the NEP, and if not because of that I would be washing cars in Bangsar, then this would certainly make me very unhappy.

Yes, Zaid and people like him do not need crutches. Only losers need crutches. And that is why UMNO wants these crutches to remain, because they are all a bunch of losers. I would like to believe that I am what I am because of who I am and not because of Ketuanan Melayu and the NEP. I take pride in that. I would hate people saying, “of course Raja Petra is successful. He is a Malay and Malays have Ketuanan Melayu and the NEP to help them. Malays need crutches to get ahead.”

It is time the crutches are removed and the Malays learned how to walk with their heads held up high. Malays have to be made to believe that the Ketuanan Melayu and the NEP is an insult and that it suggests Malays are weak creatures. Malays must be proud of their achievements and not credit their achievements to the protection and special privileges they enjoy because they are Malay. The Malays used to be a proud race. Now they are no longer proud. They accept that they are weak. So they demand protection to compensate for this weakness.

RPK Chronology of Events

malaysiainsider

Raja Petra: Abolish the ISA

By Adib Zalkapli

SHAH ALAM, Nov 7 - Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Kamarudin said the judge's decision to release him shows that there is no justification for his detention under the Internal Security Act.

"I am really glad it's over, but I still got a few more cases which I have to fight over the next few weeks," said Raja Petra referring to the sedition charge he is facing for implying that Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was involved in the murder of a Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Earlier, Justice Syed Ahmad Helmy Syed Ahmad ruled that the Home Minister acted outside his powers in having Raja Petra arrested on Sept 12, and the grounds given for his detention were insufficient.

The judge ordered that Raja Petra be brought to the court no later than 4pm, for him to be released.

As Raja Petra walked to the courtroom, he was greeted with shouts of 'RPK' from dozens of his supporters, who came in t-shirts with the word "I am with RPK" printed on them, to celebrate his release.

Raja Petra was brought to the court at 3.15pm and the judge praised the prison authorities for its professionalism.

Lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, who represents Raja Petra, also told the court that he is thankful to the authorities for promptly producing his client.

The Malaysian Insider understands that Raja Petra left the Kamunting detention camp in Perak around 11.30am.

At about 3.30pm Syed Ahmad Helmy ordered the release of Raja Petra, however there was no order from the judge not too re-arrest him.

Malik later told reporters there was no reason to ask the court to order the authorities not to rearrest Raja Petra as it is very unlikely for it to happen.

In 2001, the same court ordered the release of Reformasi activists N. Gobalakrishnan and Ghani Haroon, and ordered the authorities not to re-arrest the duo, as there was heavy police presence around the court.

Raja Petra's wife Marina Lee said she is happy with the court's decision but did not expect her husband to be released.

"The country is changing and I hope that this change will continue," she said while waiting for Raja Petra's arrival at the court.

She was also confident that her husband would not be rearrested.

Raja Petra who was garlanded as he walked out of the courtroom as a free man, was arrested for allegedly causing racial tension and insulting Islam through his writings.

"We have to fight all out and get the ISA abolished," said Raja Petra on the struggle to abolish the act that allows for detention without trial. He added that he would continue to write for his website.

Raja Petra was first arrested under the ISA in 2001 for his involvement in the Reformasi movement, but he was released after 53 days.

malaysian insider

RPK on Article 153 and the “Social Contract”

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

My sedition trial will resume on 10^th November 2008 after a three week postponement. Thus far six prosecution witnesses have testified and it appears like the prosecution has 10-13 more witnesses lined up.

Basically, the government is of the view that my article, “Let’s send the Altantuya murderers to hell”, is seditious. And to ensure that I am duly punished, other than facing trial, I am also under Internal Security Act detention. This means, even if the court acquits me, I shall still not be free. It is like taking double insurance. Either way you are covered.

I suppose sedition is the natural thing to charge me with. Moses was charged with sedition that he had to flee Egypt. Jesus was charged with sedition and the Christians believe he was executed because of that. Muhammad too was charged with sedition and the Muslims believe that God commanded him to flee Mecca lest he get murdered that same evening.

I am not trying to compare myself to the three main prophets of the Abrahamic religions. What I am trying to say is that if even the three most important prophets of the Jews, Christians and Muslim are not spared the allegation of sedition, then who am I to escape?

On 7^th November, the court will decide if my ISA detention is legal. I could say that my freedom is now in the hands of the judge and may he rule wisely. And of course, to me, “wisely” would mean to free me – whereas that may not quite be the government’s view of “wise”.

Something significant of late was the Rulers’ statement on Article 153 and the “Social Contract”. We could say that this was historic as the Rulers have never thus far made such statements. Could this be said as something timely or something the Rulers should not have done? I really don’t know.

The Pakatan Rakyat Kedah state government’s ruling of imposing a 50% Bumiputra quota on houses in the state does not help either. Why 50%? Why even 30%? Should in the first place there even be a quota?

If you have not done so this you should read Zaid Ibrahim’s book “In Good Faith”, Zaid has addressed this matter of Article 153 and the “Social Contract” with great clarity.

What the Kedah state government has done is unconstitutional. Article 8 and Article 153 of the Constitution do not allow this. You just can’t dictate how people run their businesses.

Those who support the imposition of quotas argue that there exists a “Social Contract” that allows them to do so. But while they mention this “Social Contract”, they fail to mention the terms of this “contract”, what it says, and who is bound by it.

In short, if I am not a party to that contract can I be bound by it? The contract was entered into by the Malays and the then immigrant Indians and Chinese; of course it is not really a written contract as much as a verbal contract and we all know that a verbal contract is not worth the paper it is written on.

Nevertheless, should Malaysian-born Indians and Chinese who have never even visited India and China be made to abide to a verbal “contract” made by their immigrant parents and/or grandparents? How long will this “contract” run? Will Indians and Chinese 1000 years from now still be made to abide to a “contract” made in 1957?

There should be a cut-off date. There must come a point of time when all Malaysians are regarded as equal. How can an Indonesian who migrated to this country a few years ago be regarded as Bumiputra when Chinese and Indians who come to this country in the 1400s are still second class citizens?

Yes, Article 153 accords Malays certain rights and privileges. But that same Article, and Article 8, do not allow imposing of quotas and permits which deny Indians and Chinese their rights in favour of the Malays. This, many people do not seem to understand.

We also seem to have forgotten that the New Economic Policy is a two-pronged attack. Other than reducing the gap between the different races it is also about reducing the gap between the rich and the poor. And this would mean regardless of race.

When we talk about the Malay farmers and fisherman. We do not seem to realize that there are Chinese farmers and fishermen as well. Poverty does not recognize race.

It is time that the “Social Contract” be reviewed. A new “Social Contract” must be drawn up that looks into the SOCIAL structure and not RACIAL structure that the present “Social Contract” addresses. Only then can it be called a “Social Contract”. If not, then let us call it what it really is, a “Racial Contract”.

The poverty level also needs to be reviewed. The new “hardcore” poverty level should be RM1200. Anyone earning below RM1200 per month should be considered poor. That would mean a high percentage of Malaysians. Then the NEW “Social Contract” should address the needs of those who live below the NEW poverty level of RM1200.

And the NEW “Social Contract” should no longer be a verbal contract but chiseled in stone. And it should be a contract to take care of Malays, Indians, Chinese, Portuguese, Ibans, Dayaks, etc. As long as you are poor, meaning earning below RM1200 then you are taken care of. That should be Malaysia’s NEW SOCIAL CONTRACT.

Before I sign off, I would like to apologise for the quality of my articles. It is not so convenient to type from where I currently live so I need to just get my points across without much focus on the presentation. I hope this will not be for long and that I may soon be back with you. Anyway I was told that Malaysia Today is under control and in good hands. Till we speak again.