RAJA PETRA RELEASE IS BLOW FOR THE 'ISA' - malaysiakini

By Baradan Kuppusamy
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 7 - The landmark decision to free Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Kamarudin is a major victory for free speech, judicial independence and a blow to the Internal Security Act (ISA) considered by many Malaysians to be a draconian law.

Specifically, the judgment is a slap on the face of Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar whose cavalier attitude towards using the ISA in recent months was unprecedented.

Sin Chew Daily journalist Tan Hoon Cheng was arrested under the ISA on Sept 12 allegedly for her own protection but was soon freed following a public uproar.

The same happened to Seputeh MP Teresa Kok who was also arrested the same day for allegedly threatening "national security" but was released a week later.

Syed Hamid came under intense public criticism for these "cavalier" arrests and now the court has delivered another blow in its judgment rejecting the minister's arguments that Raja Petra had threatened "national security" and therefore needs to be put away.

Taken together - the arrest, release and today's judgment - are blunders that have seriously damaged the credibility of the government.

By freeing Raja Petra, High Court Justice Syed Ahmad Helmy Syed Ahmad agreed with counsel Malik Imtiaz's arguments that the Constitution empowers the judiciary to question any act of abuse by the authorities.

Syed Ahmad ruled that Raja Petra's arrest for allegedly causing racial tensions was unlawful, holding that the Home Minister had acted outside his powers.

The grounds for the arrest were "insufficient" and unlawful, he said.

Raja Petra, who was accused of threatening public security and causing racial tension by publishing writings that ridiculed Islam, also faces a sedition charge in relation to his posting of articles linking Prime Minister-designate Datuk Seri Najib Razak with the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu.

"It is a historic ruling," said Malik.

Malik had argued that the grounds of his detention given by the minister were incredible, unacceptable and should be rejected.

He also argued that the detention infringed on Raja Petra's freedom to profess and practice Islam under Article 11 and as such his writings were an expression of his faith and conscience.

Furthermore, he said that the Minister had acted with mala fide to silence Raja Petra who was only a vocal critic of the government but whose writings never caused chaos or threaten "national security."

The legal aspects aside, Raja Petra's release is expected to impact on national politics as well.
He is expected to invigorate and boost the opposition ranks with his spicy writings and constant revelations of government misdeeds.

Raja Petra is said to be worth at least a queen in the chess game between arch rivals - opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Deputy Prime Minister Najib - to succeed as prime minister of the country.

When Anwar was jailed on the first sodomy charge in 1999, it was Raja Petra who kept the Anwar-cause alive - domestically and internationally - with his Free Anwar campaign.

Raja Petra was also among the first few who sensed or knew that Anwar was about to be released in September 2004.

He was astute enough to read the future, quickly abandoning the Free Anwar campaign and setting up the Malaysia Today website, positioning himself as a key power broker in the emerging Abdullah-era.

With his multimedia skills, political astuteness and storytelling powers, he turned Malaysia Today into a powerful new weapon against opponents.

His powers, through Malaysia Today, to influence public opinion is phenomenal and was one key reason many thought he was put away.

But now that he is free expect the fireworks again. -- The Malaysian Insider

Raja Petra freed

SHAH ALAM, Nov 7 — The High Court today ordered that Raja Petra Kamarudin, editor of the popular news portal Malaysia Today, be released from detention after ruling that his arrest for allegedly causing racial tensions was unlawful.
High Court Justice Syed Ahmad Helmy Syed Ahmad ruled that the Home Minister acted outside his powers in having Raja Petra arrested on Sept 12, said the blogger’s lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar.
He quoted the judge as saying the grounds given for Raja Petra's detention were insufficient and that his arrest under the Internal Security Act was unlawful.
The ISA allows the government to detain anyone for an initial two-year period without charges, and to extend the detention indefinitely.
Raja Petra, who was accused of threatening public security and causing racial tension by publishing writings that ridiculed Islam, will be taken to court later today to be formally set free.
Malik said the order was a "historic ruling”.
It's not the first time that a court has ordered the release of ISA detainees, and the ruling also does not prevent the government from re-arresting him under the ISA. The government can also appeal the ruling.
Raja Petra, 58, has increasingly infuriated authorities by publishing numerous claims about alleged wrongdoing by government leaders on his highly popular site, Malaysia Today. The government has denounced most of Raja Petra's allegations as lies.
He is also on trial in a separate case, having been accused of sedition by implying that Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was involved in the murder of a Mongolian woman. Raja Petra denies the allegation. If convicted, he faces up to three years in jail.
The detention came at a time when the government's popularity hit at an all-time low and is riven with factional fighting and faces the threat of being ousted by the opposition.
The ISA is a holdover from British colonial days, when it was used against communist insurgents. Independent Malaysia's post-colonial government has kept it in the statute books and has used it sparingly against political dissidents, ignoring calls from opposition groups and others to disband the law.
Raja Petra's arrest triggered widespread protests by civil society groups, lawyers and other online commentators.
Some of Malaysia's most popular blogs offer strong anti-government commentaries and present themselves as a substitute for mainstream media, which are controlled by political parties or closely linked to them. The government estimates there are more than 700 Malaysians who blog on social and political issues.
Meanwhile, Raja Petra’s wife, Mable or Marina Lee, described as “fantastic” the High Court decision to free her husband from detention under the Internal Security Act.
“I don't know what to say...it is a fantastic breakthrough that happened today,” she told reporters after the decision.
Marina, who wore a red T-shirt with the words “I Am With RPK”, was elated that the decision was what she had expected. — Agencies