Friday September 12, 2008 MYT 10:36:40 PM

RPK arrested under ISA (Update 4)

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Kamaruddin and Sin Chew Daily News reporter Tan Hoon Cheng were arrested Friday under the Internal Security Act.

Three Malaysian newspapers - Sin Chew Daily, The Sun and Suara Keadilan - were also issued show cause letters by the Home Ministry.

According to Raja Petra's wife Marina Lee Abdullah, he was not “too surprised” when police told him that we was to be detained under the ISA.

She said her husband had been talking about it (ISA) for some time of late and knew his time was “coming up”.

“It came as a shock to me, but at the back of our minds we knew they (the Government) were going to use the ISA on him,” Marina said at her home in Bukit Rahman Putra here.

She said 10 policemen, led by Asst Supt Mohd Yusof Chem, arrived at their house at 1.10pm. At that time, Raja Petra, Marina and their two daughters were in.

“They asked for Raja Petra’s Mykad before entering the house to conduct an inspection. They looked in all the rooms and the car before seizing some 15 VCDs on ceramahs held by Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and 16 books mostly on local political figures,” she said.

Marina said it was only after the policemen completed searching the home that they told Raja Petra that he was being detained under Section 73 (1) of the ISA and would be taken to an undisclosed place.

She said ASP Mohd Yusof read Raja Petra the grounds for his arrest, which was publishing hatred-inciting articles on his blog.

“Raja Petra was in good spirits as he was whisked away by policeman at around 1.50pm,” she said, adding that he was not handcuffed.

“I will be strong for my husband and children and we will fight this all the way,” she vowed.

She said she would discuss her husband’s arrest with their lawyer before deciding the next course of action.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar told The Star Raja Petra was detained under Section 73 (1) of the ISA as he was deemed a threat to security, peace and public order.

He said that under Section 73 (1) Raja Petra would be detained for 60 days.

“The police will do an assessment during this period and if they feel he should be held more than 60 days, the police will then refer to me,” he said.

Syed Hamid also confirmed that Sin Chew Daily, The Sun and Suara Keadilan were issued show cause letters.

"They have been given a week to reply," he added.

Sin Chew's Tan was arrested from her home in Taman Permai in Bukit Mertajam at 8.30pm Friday.

PKR Information Chief Tian Chua told The Star before leaving for Taiwan that he was informed of Raja Petra’s arrest by party colleagues.

“RPK’s daughter sent a SMS to say that her father was arrested about 1.10pm (Friday),” he said when contacted before he boarded China Airlines flight CI 0656, which was scheduled to depart KLIA at 2.20pm Friday.

Raja Petra’s arrest comes a day after the Cabinet ordered the Multimedia and Communications Commission (MCMC) to reinstate access to all blocked websites, including the controversial Malaysia Today.

Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor said on Thursday the order was made because there were other “harsher” laws in the country, under which authorities could take action against the owners of blogs and websites, instead of blocking it.

“The Cabinet has asked the ministry to direct MCMC to reinstate access to any blocked website with immediate effect.

“At the same time, it is asking MCMC to closely cooperate with the police, the Attorney-General’s Office and the Home Minister to monitor any website or blog to ensure that this does not contain seditious, racist or religiously insensitive remarks.

“Instead of blocking access to offensive websites, the Cabinet wants authorities to investigate and act quickly against the owners of these sites,” he said in Putrajaya.

Earlier stories:
MCMC to reinstate access to all blocked sites
Existing laws to deal with websites that cause unease
MCMC should not have blocked website, say Netizens
Home Ministry reminds media to follow guidelines

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