PETALING JAYA: Popular blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin has decided not to give a statement to the Malaysian police in Bangkok unless they are willing to meet him at his hotel in the Thai capital.
He will not be presenting himself to the police officials at the Malaysian embassy in Bangkok, said his lawyer and Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement president Haris Ibrahim on Sunday.
He told this to FMT following a failed attempt by the police to take Raja Petra’s statement on Saturday night.
The police officials from Kuala Lumpur had insisted that Raja Petra followed them to the Malaysian embassy in Bangkok to give his statement.
“Two police officials met Raja Petra at this hotel last night but they wanted him to return to the Malaysian embassy to have his statement taken. We (his lawyers) did not agree to this,” Haris said.
He added that Raja Petra had informed the police officials that while he was willing to cooperate with the “His stand is clear. He is ready to cooperate but wants the police to take any statement from him from his hotel. The police came over to the hotel last night but still wanted him to go to the embassy,” added Haris.
It is believed that Raja Petra is being asked to give a statement for allegedly making a false statement with regards to his recent TV3 interview in Perth, Australia. A police report was made against Raja Petra alleging that he lied in his the TV3 interview.
RPK is in Bangkok to attend an MCLM event. He is the president of the civil liberties movement. He met up with Malaysians and launched the Thailand Chapter of the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement.
Impasse at night
Earlier yesterday, Malaysian embassy officials had approached Raja Petra during the MCLM event, asking him to be present at the embassy later on Saturday night so that two visiting police officers could take a statement from him for a police investigation.
However, following advise from Haris and another lawyer, Raja Petra decided not to go to the embassy and offered his cooperation as long as the statement was taken at his hotel.
“The police officers came last night and we had a major argument over certain things. We asked to be shown the police report against Raja Petra and they said it was at the embassy and asked us to go there to have a look at it,” Haris said.
He added that he and another lawyer had then gone to the embassy to see the report.
“We then reiterated our stand to Raja Petra that he should not go to the embassy. We expressed this to the police officers who were already at the hotel.
“They were there and they knew he was ready to cooperate but they insisted that he went to the embassy with them. This caused an impasse and the police officers left.
“We have repeated to them that Raja Petra was ready to give his statement, but not at the embassy. They know where his hotel is and they can come to see him today (Sunday),” he added - FMT
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