RPK off to prison, after refusing to pay bail of RM5,000

RPK off to jail in handcuffs (click on picture for larger size image)

Judicial Process, Malaysian style

Raja Petra Kamaruddin, has claimed trial at the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court to a charge of publishing a seditious article on 25th April 2008, on news portal http://www.malaysia-today.net/2008/

He was charged under Section 4(1)(c) of the loosely drafted, catch-all, oppressive, and archaic Sedition Act 1948, which is left over from an earlier time when Malaysia was recovering from the Second World War Japanese occupation, and was under British rule.

The court evidently decided that nine paragraphs in his article titled "Let’s send the Altantuya murderers to hell" were possibly seditious.

The court set bail at RM5,000, however Raja Petra steadfastly refused to pay it.

His wife Marina Lee Abdullah later stated that Raja Petra was hoping to raise the money for his bail, through RM 1.00 public donations paid via a specially set up bank account, which is listed on his news portal, or on-line, meanwhile it is understood that he has been detained at the Sungai Buloh prison.

Earlier, Raja Petra had arrived at 9:06, at the compound of the magistrates’ court which is situated within the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex in Jalan Duta , as he had been instructed to do by the police, in order to attend the court proceedings at 09:30

He was later, before any court proceeding began, instructed by the police, via a telephone call to go to the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court to be charged.

This is another good example of Malaysian, ‘kangaroo style court hopping’, drama and intrigue.

A crowd of several hundred people were by that time already gathered at the Jalan Duta court complex, they then all immediately moved off to Petaling Jaya.

Among the supporters of Raja Petra were many bloggers and MPs including Salahuddin Ayub (Kubang Kerian), Kamarul Baharin Abbas (Teluk Kemang) and Nurul Izzah Anwar (Lembah Pantai), there were, however, no MPs from the National Front (BN) component political parties reported to have been present.

Perhaps this is an indication that this is not so much of a legal process of prosecution, but rather a contrived vindictive process of politically motivated persecution.

The ‘trial’ date was set, the ‘trial’ will be performed from 6^th -10^th October 2008.

Gutta cavat lapidem, non vi sed saepe cadendo

- The drop excavates the stone, not with force but by falling often