RPK to resurface at London talk

May 21, 2010
LONDON, May 21 — Raja Petra Kamarudin will tomorrow make his first formal public appearance since he became a fugitive over a year ago, after fleeing charges of sedition and criminal defamation.
After various unconfirmed reports that he has been hiding in Australia and Britain, the controversial blogger, widely referred to as RPK, will finally surface at an event here.
Hosted by the Solicitors International Human Rights Group (SIHRG), the event has piqued the interest of Malaysians currently living in the United Kingdom.

Raja Petra, who writes for online portal Malaysia Today, will be questioning the relevance of the Internal Security Act (ISA), under which he was twice detained without trial, and other laws in Malaysia which allow for such arrests.
It coincides with other efforts by Malaysians both in the UK and Malaysia to step up pressure on the government to fulfil promises made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to review or repeal such legislation. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the ISA.
The Malaysian working group within SIHRG decided to host RPK’s talk as laws providing for detention without trial “have been used to stifle political dissent and so it is an obvious case of interest” to the organisation.
It stated that “Raja Petra remains in exile, unconvinced that he will be afforded due process and justice in defending himself against these charges and in responding to the appeal regarding his ISA detention.”
But blogger himself has claimed that his self-imposed exile was not related to the charges, but done in accordance with tradition after offending Selangor’s royal family with some of his blog postings.
Raja Petra had on May 6, 2008 claimed trial to publishing an allegedly seditious article, “Let’s send the Altantuya murderers to hell,” on Malaysia Today on April 25 of that same year.
The article had implied that Najib and his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, were involved in the sensational murder of young Mongolian female translator Altantuya Shariibuu.
He failed to turn up in court the following year and a warrant for his arrest was issued.
Working group leader Shubhaa Srinivasan told The Malaysian Insider that Raja Petra’s circumstances were “directly relevant to anti-terrorism legislation” on which SIHRG has sent proposals to Malaysia’s Bar Council and which raises doubts over the need for the ISA.
Shubhaa also insisted that the event at the BPP law school would not see any special security measures and was open to all.
“We had a proper discussion with the speaker (Raja Petra) and he is aware of the rules and willingly came out to speak,” she said, adding that the SIHRG was contacted by intermediaries who set up a meeting with Raja Petra.
However, in an email interview with newly established portal Free Malaysia Today, Raja Petra had claimed it was SIHRG that requested him to speak.
He also claimed that he has not been in hiding but was moving freely in London.
With the slow progress the Malaysian police have made in the case, Raja Petra implied that he was not fearful of the Malaysian authorities and went so far as to claim to have met Umno top brass while in the UK.
Shubhaa added that the ball was in the government’s court and it was up to them to ensure a fair trial and due process was adhered to.
Having made bold claims and allegations in his blog for years, Raja Petra has become an iconic figure for anti-establishment Malaysians, specifically those who follow political developments on the Internet.
Although the event was not widely publicised — some Malaysian students studying at the BPP school itself were unaware — those who have found out were extremely keen to attend.
However, due to his lack of favour with the authorities, many students on government or government-linked scholarships were shying away and preferring to hear second-hand what Raja Petra will have to say after ending a year away from the spotlight.

Source from : http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/