Read this doc on Scribd: The Sun Malaysia Cover (7 May 2008)
The nation’s FREE newspaper 30 sen for delivery to your doorstep MEMBER AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATIONS (MALAYSIA) 275,000 COPIES DAILY Award winning newspaper for public service reporting and opinion writing. No. 4507 PP 2644/12/2008 (020369) Wednesday May 7, 2008 TELLING IT AS IT IS www.sun2surf.com » Dewan Rakyat proceedings pg5 SHARIL AMIN/THESUN » Kickboxer’s secret weapon pg24 Entertainment Writers charged with sedition by Tan Yi Liang newsdesk@thesundaily.com ETALING JAYA: Police yesterday slapped sedition charges on a blogger and an author, setting the stage for sensational trials later in the year. Malaysia Today webmaster Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin and businessman and writer Syed Akbar Ali pleaded not guilty to posting seditious remarks on the former’s website. Raja Petra was charged under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948 with publishing a seditious article entitled “Let’s Send the P Altantuya Murderers to Hell” in his blog www.malaysia-today.net on April 25. He allegedly committed the offence at his house in Bukit Rahman Putra, Sungai Buloh. The 58-year-old charismatic blogger caused a stir when he rejected sessions judge Nurmala Salim’s bail offer of RM5,000, choosing instead to go to Sungai Buloh prison, until the trial fixed for Oct 6-10. If found guilty, he could be jailed for up to three years and/or fined up to RM5,000. Syed Akbar was also charged under the same section in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court Raja Petra in the court holding cell. He refused to post bail and was taken to Sungai Buloh Prison; Syed Akbar (right) was freed on bail. with publishing seditious remarks in a comment posted in Malaysia Today. He allegedly committed the offence at Zeenath Begum Jewellers Sdn Bhd, Jalan Mesjid India, on June 5 last year. The comment headlined “It is easy to impress the Malays” was made in an article entitled “Malaysia’s Organised Crime Syndicate: All Roads Lead to Putrajaya” published by Raja Petra on the popular website. Raja Petra was represented by a legal team comprising Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh, K. Balaguru, Selayang MP William Leong, J. Chandra, Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng and Jeswinderjit Singh. His prosecution was a media event at the court, with blogger friends and Pakatan Rakyat politicians showing support. Among those who turned up were Parti Keadilan Rakyat president Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Lim Kit Siang and MP for Lembah Pantai Nurul Izzah Anwar. Raja Petra had hours earlier turned up at the Duta Court Complex, where police had told him to be. However, after waiting for more than an hour, he received a call on his handphone from the police telling him to go to the PJ sessions court instead. Raja Petra was vocal in condemning the sedition charge, saying that there was nothing to be worried about. “I have been asked if this sedition charge is part of a war on bloggers. We bloggers declared war on the government four years ago. So it is not the government who has declared war on us. We want to change the government,” he said, adding that he had expected to be charged. Raja Petra was detained under the Internal Security Act in 2001, and freed the same year. His departure to Sungai Buloh prison was met with shouts of “Makkal Sakthi”, “Reformasi” and “Suara Petra, Suara Malaysia.” Raja Petra’s website issued a call for donation of RM1 per person to his legal aid fund. At 6.45pm, RM24,500 had been credited to his CIMB bank account and the fund had collected an additional US$3,283.61 through a Paypal account. It has been closed since. Syed Akbar, a former banker who now runs a business with his wife on Jalan Mesjid India, was represented by Ashok Kandiah, Haris Ibrahim and Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, Bernama reported. Deputy Public Prosecutor Ishak Yusof, assisted by Hanafiah Zakaria, recommended to the court for him be allowed bail of RM5,000 but Ashok pleaded for a lower amount. Judge S. M. Komathy Suppiah set bail at RM3,000 with one surety and fixed June 10 to hear submissions by both parties on a preliminary objection raised by the defence which had claimed at the start of proceedings that the charge was groundless. Syed Akbar’s wife posted bail.
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