A popular Malaysian blogger yesterday pleaded not guilty to sedition over an article he wrote that linked the deputy prime minister and his wife to the murder of a Mongolian woman.
Raja Petra Kamaruddin, founder of the popular Malaysia Today site that frequently airs criticism of government leaders, has also been held in detention since August under tough internal security laws.
Najib, who is expected to replace Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as the country’s next leader, has denied any involvement in the 2006 murder of 28-year-old Altantuya Shaariibuu.
Najib’s close friend, Abdul Razak Baginda, is on trial for abetting the murder, and two police officers from a unit that guards the prime minister and his deputy have been charged with the killing.
Raja Petra, 58, pleaded not guilty to the sedition charge lodged over an article published in April entitled “Let’s Send the Altantuya Murderers to Hell.”
“I claim trial,” a tired-looking Raja Petra told the court.
Lawyers said that Malaysia’s Sedition Act, a relic from British colonial times, has historically been used to prevent uprising against the leadership, as well as disharmony among the people.
Raja Petra’s wife, Marina Lee Abdullah, said he would not be cowed into silence, and urged the government to abandon its use of the Internal Security Act (ISA) which allows for detention without trial.
“He is not giving up. He is not a threat to security. If he has done wrong, charge him in court. Do not detain him under the ISA,” she told reporters.
“What’s wrong in exposing leaders who indulge in corruption? Are we supposed to remain silent?” she said.
About three dozen supporters gathered outside the court, wearing T-shirts with slogans such as “I am with RPK,” “Free RPK,” and “No to ISA.”
The ISA, which human rights groups have pushed to have abolished, allows for renewable two-year periods of detention without trial and is normally used against terrorism suspects.
If convicted of sedition, Raja Petra faces a three-year jail term.
The hearing will continue at least until the end of the week and the court will then decide whether the case goes to trial.
Indonesia and Malaysia have become the first countries to block Grok, the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s xAI, after authorities said it was being misused to generate sexually explicit and nonconsensual images. The moves reflect growing global concern over generative AI tools that can produce realistic images, sound and text, while existing safeguards fail to prevent their abuse. The Grok chatbot, which is accessed through Musk’s social media platform X, has been criticized for generating manipulated images, including depictions of women in bikinis or sexually explicit poses, as well as images involving children. Regulators in the two Southeast Asian
COMMUNIST ALIGNMENT: To Lam wants to combine party chief and state presidency roles, with the decision resting on the election of 200 new party delegates next week Communist Party of Vietnam General Secretary To Lam is seeking to combine his party role with the state presidency, officials said, in a move that would align Vietnam’s political structure more closely to China’s, where President Xi Jinping (習近平) heads the party and state. Next week about 1,600 delegates are to gather in Hanoi to commence a week-long communist party congress, held every five years to select new leaders and set policy goals for the single-party state. Lam, 68, bade for both top positions at a party meeting last month, seeking initial party approval ahead of the congress, three people briefed by
The Chinese Embassy in Manila yesterday said it has filed a diplomatic protest against a Philippine Coast Guard spokesman over a social media post that included cartoonish images of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela and an embassy official had been trading barbs since last week over issues concerning the disputed South China Sea. The crucial waterway, which Beijing claims historic rights to despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, has been the site of repeated clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels. Tarriela’s Facebook post on Wednesday included a photo of him giving a
ICE DISPUTE: The Trump administration has sought to paint Good as a ‘domestic terrorist,’ insisting that the agent who fatally shot her was acting in self-defense Thousands of demonstrators chanting the name of the woman killed by a US federal agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota, took to the city’s streets on Saturday, amid widespread anger at use of force in the immigration crackdown of US President Donald Trump. Organizers said more than 1,000 events were planned across the US under the slogan “ICE, Out for Good” — referring to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is drawing growing opposition over its execution of Trump’s effort at mass deportations. The slogan is also a reference to Renee Good, the 37-year-old mother shot dead on Wednesday in her
RSS