| The real face of Malaysias government: blogger arrested for posting anti-government comments  Malaysian blogger arrested | ||||||||||||||||||||
Malaysian authorities have detained a government critic by invoking a colonial-era security law that allows for indefinite detention without trial. Raja Petra Kamarudin, a popular blogger-activist, was taken away from his home just outside the capital, Kuala Lumpur, on Friday afternoon, according to his wife. Marina Lee Abdullah said police came to the house to serve an arrest warrant and told them her husband was being detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA). The ISA is widely used against those the government considers a threat to national security. The arrest comes amid simmering political tensions in Malaysia, with opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim saying he plans to unseat the coalition government that has ruled Malaysia for the past half century. Anwar had vowed to take power on September 16, with the support of at least 30 government members of parliament. But on Friday his party said the attempt had been delayed by the government sending 46 MPs on a trip to Taiwan. Website blocked
The cabinet on Thursday ordered the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, the government's industry regulator, to re¬instate access to all blocked websites. Government leaders have repeatedly accused Raja Petra of spreading malicious falsehoods through his blog, which regularly features stinging comments and numerous claims about alleged wrongdoings by public officials. The blocking of Malaysia Today, believed to be the first official clampdown on a local website, drew criticism from bloggers and journalists who accused the authorities of seeking to quash dissent. Some of Malaysia's most popular websites and blogs offer fiercely anti-government commentaries, presenting themselves as an alternative to mainstream media, which are controlled by ruling political parties or closely linked to them. Raja Petra is already facing charges of sedition and criminal defamation over an article and a sworn statement he made alleging links between the country's deputy prime minister and the murder of a Mongolian model. The trial is scheduled to begin in October. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2008/09/20089126732640247.html
Also read:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/12/malaysia.pressandpublishing
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/12/malaysia.pressandpublishing
Background:
Malaysian Analyst Faces Death Penalty in Mongolian Model Murder ...
mymalaysia.wordpress.com/2006/11/19/malaysian-analyst-faces-death-penalty-in-mongolian-model-murder/ - 90k - Cached - Similar pages
http://thecourtroom.stomp.com.sg/thecourtroom/murderofmongolmodel/index.html
28-year-old Mongolian beauty Ms Altantuya Shaariibuu with her younger son, Atanshagai.
Mr Abdul Razak Baginda,
former lover of Ms Altantuya Shaariibuu
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