Raja Petra Kamarudin

Infobox_Monarch | name = "Balddick" Raja Petra Kamarudin
title =Prince of Selangor


caption =Raja Petra Kamarudin (pictured July 2007) has been investigated by the police for comments posted on his website, Malaysia Today. In the background is Raja Petra's wife, Marina Lee Abdullah.
reign =
coronation =
predecessor =
successor =
suc-type =
heir =
spouse =Marina Lee Abdullah
issue =Raja Suraya
Raja Azman
Raja Shahril
Raja Azmir
Raja Sara
royal house =
royal anthem =
father =
mother =Che' Bariya Kamarudin née Barbara Mabel Parnell
date of birth =Birth date and age|1950|09|27|df=y
place of birth =Surrey, England
date of death =
place of death =
buried =|

Raja Petra bin Raja Kamarudin of Malaysia (born September 27, 1950 [http://72.14.235.104/search?q=cache:-3-xBm_ZU4UJ:www.hakam.org/rajapetra.doc+Raja+Kamarudin&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=my Appellate Jurisdiction involving the detention of Raja Petra Kamarudin under the ISA (2001)] at hakam.com ( [http://www.hakam.org/rajapetra.doc .doc file] )] ) is a Malaysian editor known for running the Malaysia Today website and publishing a series of commentary articles on Malaysian politics in the website. He is also fondly referred to as Double Baldy or Balddick as he has a shaven head and is circumcised or by the initials RPK.

He was detained for a second time under the Internal Security Act, at 1.10 PM on 12 September 2008. [http://www1.malaysiakini.com/news/89544]

Personal life

Born in Surrey, England, 27th September 1950, Raja Petra was educated at the Alice Smith School. At the age of 13 he went to further his studies at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar, completing his education at the Victoria Institution. Raja Petra Kamarudin used to own a motorcycle dealership and rice distributor. He has been fascinated with motorcycles since he was young.

On April 14, 1973, at the age of 23 years old, he married Marina Lee binti Abdullah who was then 18 years old.fact|date=September 2007 Marina Lee Abdullah, of Siamese-Chinese extraction, [ [http://insuranceable.blogspot.com/2008/06/auto-insurance-and-leasing.html 16/10: Gelombang Kuning] ] [ [http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/printfriendly/0,4139,137904,00.html? IF I'M GUILTY, GO AHEAD, HANG ME] ] is a book publisher. Raja Petra and Marina have five children (Raja Suraya "1974", Raja Azman "1977", Raja Shahril "1978", Raja Azmir "1983" and Raja Sara "1988") and two grandchildren.

Raja Petra is a member of the Selangor royal family. He is the nephew of the late Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, the eleventh Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) of Malaysia and the seventh Sultan of Selangor.cite web|publisher=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=March 30, 2002|title=Royal revolutionary pays price for backing Anwar|url=http://insuranceable.blogspot.com/2008/06/auto-insurance-and-leasing.html|accessdate=2008-02-26] His mother, Che' Bariya Kamarudin ("née Barbara Mabel Parnell") is Welsh.

Political involvement

Raja Petra was a leading member of Parti Keadilan Nasional (now Parti Keadilan Rakyat)—the party set up in response to the arrest of former Malaysian deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim in 1998. On April 11, 2001, Raja Petra and 10 other opposition activists were detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for allegedly plotting to overthrow then prime minister Mahathir bin Mohamad. He was released from the detention center 52 days later. [cite news|publisher=AsiaMedia|url=http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=75215|title=Bloggers rally around Raja Petra|accessdate=2008-02-26]

Malaysia Today

Raja Petra started the Malaysia Today website and his blog to facilitate open discussion on Malaysia's political and social scenes. In his online writings, he is often very witty, humorous and sometimes critical of the current political developments in Malaysia. In his Malaysia Today's columns, he advocates for transparency, accountability and justice in the Malaysian political system. He often denounces money politics, corruption, and ethnic polarisation that is deeply rooted in Malaysian society.

On July 2, 2008, Malaysia Today was defaced by a person known only as "Gasakdotnet", replacing the website with a superimposition of Mahathir Mohammad's face into the poster of the film "We Were Soldiers" accompanied by the tagline "My Countrymen, My Fellow Malaysian.", alluding to Mahathir's "battle" for Malaysia as the Prime Minister from 1981 to 2003. [cite news | title=Raja Petra Kamaruddin's Malaysia Today website back from the hack | date=2008-07-03 | publisher=NST | url =http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Thursday/NewsBreak/20080703115745/Article/index_html | work =NST | pages = | accessdate = 2008-07-03 | language = ( [http://72.14.235.104/search?q=cache:99mSSSqCr0oJ:www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Thursday/NewsBreak/20080703115745/Article/pppull_index_html+Raja+Petra+Kamaruddin%27s+Malaysia+Today+website+back+from+the+hack&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=my cached mirror] .)] Poor Internet connectivity affecting several areas in Malaysia hampered efforts to restore the website promptly.

July 2008, Recent weeks Malaysia Today have been badly blocked (of its IP) or Hacked to prevent readers to view the information. Although the website IP have been changed frequently. But it seems there are no improvement for a smooth viewing of Malaysia Today. Malaysia Today (http://www.malaysia-today.net) died 6:00PM 26 August 2008, left relaunched a new website Harapan Malaysia (http://mt.harapanmalaysia.com) to continue the fight. The current Malaysia Today website is maintained under (http://mt.m2day.org/2008) after the second website was blocked.

Second ISA Detention

On September 12, 2008 Raja Petra was detained under the Internal Security Act. According to his wife, 10 police personnel from Bukit Aman came to their home in Sungai Buloh at about 1.10pm to arrest him. They also confiscated some books and VCDs. Prior to his on September 6, Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar had warned the 58-year-old editor of popular news portal Malaysia Today could be charged under the ISA for comments allegedly insulting Islam and Prophet Muhammad. Several religious groups - Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim), Yayasan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia (Yadim), Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council (Maiwp) and Federal Territory Religious Department (Jawi) - had lodged police reports against him. The groups complained his comment in an article entitled "I Promise to be a good, non-hypocritical Muslim" allegedly used sentences that insulted Muslims. [cite news|publisher=Malaysiakini|url=http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/12551/84/ |title=Raja Petra 'arrested under ISA' |accessdate=2008-09-12] [cite news| title=Raja Petra 'arrested under ISA'|date=2008-09-12| publisher=MalaysiaKini|url= http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/89544 | work = MalaysiaKini | pages = | accessdate = 2008-09-12 | language = ] [cite news| title=Malaysian Prince Arrested Under Internal Security Law|date=2008-09-12| publisher=Nasdaq|url= http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20080912%5cACQDJON200809120246DOWJONESDJONLINE000341.htm&&mypage=newsheadlines&title=Malaysian%20Prince%20Arrested%20Under%20Internal%20Security%20Law | work = AFP| accessdate = 2008-09-12]

Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin filed a habeas corpus application at the High Court here on September 16, 2008 seeking his release from detention under the Internal Security Act. The notice of motion was filed at the High Court criminal registry about 3.45pm via Messrs Mathews Hun Kandiah. In a move to counteract the probable release of Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin by the Malaysian High Court the Malaysian Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar signed an order to remand Raja Petra on Monday September 22, 2008 for up to two years to the detention facility under section 8 of the ISA. The move by the Malaysian government underlines that there were no probable cause to arrest Raja Petra and that the new order under section 8 is done to keep Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin from critisising the ruling party. Remand orders under section 8 can not be challenged in court and is always ordered by a minister of the government. [cite news| title=Raja Petra Kamarudin begins two-year detention under ISA at Kamunting|date=2008-09-23| publisher=NSTOnline|url= http://www.nst.com.my/Tuesday/Frontpage/20080923152855/Article/index_html| work = NST| accessdate = 2008-09-23]

Held under a draconian security law without trial, Raja Petra was jailed at the Kamunting Detention Center in northern Perak state, which has 60 detainees under ISA, most of whom are suspected Islamic extremists. ISA permits the government an initial detention of 2 months for investigation, followed by a 2-year jail sentence which can be renewed indefinitely. The 1948 ISA is a holdover from British colonial rule, intended for communist insurgents. His wife Marina Lee Abdullah said: "(Police) said my husband has been sent to Kamunting this morning and that he will remain there for two years with no trial. This is the worst news I can receive but we will keep fighting for his release. This is dirty foul play by the government as they know that we are in the process of fighting for his release in the court but I was expecting this. Raja Petra was detained for allegedly 'insulting Islam' and publishing articles on his website which has tarnished the country's leadership to the point of causing confusion among the people." Raja Petra's lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar tried to move for his release in a court hearing but this was dismissed. [ [http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h_0rU9tc6f5grv8KTedN-NRxsy-A afp.google.com, Malaysian blogger to be detained for two years: wife] ] [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7630789.stm news.bbc.co.uk/2, Malaysia 'dissent' blogger jailed] ] [ [http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/23/asia/AS-Malaysia-Blogger-Jailed.php iht.com, Malaysian blogger jailed for 2 years] ] [ [http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/news/article_1432523.php/Malaysian_blogger_jailed_for_two_years_under_security_law_ monstersandcritics.com, Malaysian blogger jailed for two years under security law] ] Raja Petra's detention caused widespread protests by civil society groups, lawyers and other online commentators.

Meanwhile, the in Kota Kinabalu, United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko) led by its Secretary-General Datuk Wilfred Madius Tangau, joined its 3 other Barisan Nasional (BN) counterparts MCA, Gerakan and MIC petitioning the Government review of the Internal Security Act (Malaysia) (ISA). Madius said the party supports former de-facto Law Minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim's position that the ISA should only be used against those who posed a threat to national security, such as terrorists: "Clearly in the case of Seputeh MP, Teresa Kok, Raja Petra Kamaruddin, and Sin Chew Daily reporter, Tan Hoon Cheng, there are so many other public order laws that can be used against them if, at all, there is a case to do so." [ [http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=60010 dailyexpress.com.my/news, Upko also wants ISA reviewed] ]

Controversies

Muhammad Muhammad Taib

On July 23, 2007, Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib, UMNO's Information Chief, lodged a police report against Malaysia Today at 12.57 p.m. at the Tun H.S. Lee police station, under Section 121 (B) and Section 123 of the Penal Code, Section 4 of the Sedition Act 1948 and Section 263 and Section 266 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, for a July 11 blog entry on the website deemed to contain writing that insult the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, degrade Islam and incite hatred and violence between local ethic groups.The Star (July. 23, 2007). [http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/7/23/nation/20070723150930&sec=nation "Umno lodges police report against Malaysia Today"] . "The Star".] Raja Petra Kamarudin responded by releasing an article on Malaysia Today, lashing back on Taib with allegations of hypocrisy and corruption. A second police report against Raja Petra was believed to be lodged after the release of the article, and Raja Petra was summoned to the Dang Wangi police station on July 25, 2007 for eight hours of questioning.cite web |url=http://rockybru.blogspot.com/2007/08/ah-marina-raja-petra.html |title=Ah, Marina Raja Petra |accessdate=2007-08-16 |author=Attan, Ahirudin |date=2007-08-08 |publisher=rocky bru's ] His wife was also questioned for an hour.cite web |url=http://malaysia-today.net/blog2006/newsncom.php?itemid=6750 |title=25/07: Raja Petra summoned to Dang Wangi 11.00am today |accessdate=2007-08-16 |author=Raja Petra (posted) |date=2007-07-25 |publisher=Malaysia Today ]

After his release from questioning, Raja Petra gave his reason on why Muhammad Taib made a police report against him, stating the reason is that the government wished to silence the nations bloggers before the Malaysian general election.Fact|date=August 2007

Universiti Utara Malaysia

Raja Petra made headlines in end March 2008 when a Malaysian High Court ordered him in and the group chief editor and editor of PKR’s organ Suara Keadilan to pay a total of RM7 million to Universiti Utara Malaysia and its vice-chancellor Tan Sri Dr Nordin Kardi for libel.

Altantuya Shaariibuu

Accusation of Najib Abdul Razak's involvement

Raja Petra was charged on May 6, 2008 with sedition for allegedly implying that the Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak was involved in the sensational killing of a young Mongolian woman, Altantuya Shaariibuu. Also charged for sedition was businessman Syed Akbar Ali, who had allegedly posted a seditious comment on "Malaysia Today".cite news | first=Kok Leong | last=Chan | coauthors= | title=Raja Petra charged, chooses jail over bail | date=2008-05-06 | publisher= | url =http://malaysiakini.com/news/82386 | work =Malaysiakini | pages = | accessdate = 2008-05-06 | language = ]

Raja Petra Raja Kamaruddin, who did not deny that he linked Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak to the slaying, pleaded innocent to the charge, and said he should have the right to hold the powerful accountable for wrongdoing. Raja Petra was taken to a detention center after he refused to post the bail of RM5,000. The court set the trial for October 6, 2008. If convicted, he faces up to 3 years in prison. "I am not posting bail. See you guys in October, I will be out for Christmas. Don't worry." [ [http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hU2bVj5cFpUI-k7jXWEXlJJvtKggD90G259G1 ap.google.com, Malaysian blogger charged with sedition] ] His wife said she was "quite stunned" that Raja Petra refused to post bail, and said she thought he wanted to make a statement by not posting bail, which he reportedly felt he could not afford to. She launched a campaign to solicit donations of RM1 from the public for the RM5,000 bail, but called it off a few hours later after the campaign raised over RM35,000.

Several Members of Parliament from the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition were present at Raja Petra's hearing, with one, Nurul Izzah Anwar, calling "Malaysia Today" 'the primary source of a lot of unearthing of scandals especially corrupt practices of the leadership and the government...it has helped [open] the eyes of the nation to what is going on and what is wrong with the country. It played a huge role in the last elections." On the same day, Lim Kit Siang raised the issue of Raja Petra's sedition charges in Parliament, arguing that Najib had personally intervened to ensure the Attorney-General would charge Raja Petra with sedition, and calling it an abuse of power. [cite news | first=Fauwaz | last=Abdul Aziz | coauthors= | title=Ruckus over RPK in Parliament | date=2008-05-06 | publisher= | url =http://malaysiakini.com/news/82428 | work =Malaysiakini | pages = | accessdate = 2008-05-06 | language = ]

Raja Petra Kamaruddin's wife Marina Lee Abdullah stated that "He is on a hunger strike. It is a protest. The last time he did this, his liver was damaged. I don't think he is going to last that long." Raja Petra also refused visits by family members. [ [http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view/20080507-135175/UPDATE-Malaysian-blogger-starts-hunger-strike-in-jail Inquirer.net, Malaysian blogger starts hunger strike in jail] ] On his release, Raja Petra claimed that he had not, in fact, been on a hunger strike but was refusing to eat and drink for fear of being poisoned, as Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Cpl. Sirul Azhar Umar (on trial for the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu) are being remanded in the same prison [ [http://www.malaysia-today.net/2008/content/view/7156/84/ Malaysia Today, "Thank you so much and sorry for letting you down"] ] .

Statutory declaration

In a statutory declaration on June 18, 2008, Raja Petra accused Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor (the wife of Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak) of being one of three individuals who were present at the crime scene when Altantuya Shaariibuu was murdered on Oct 19, 2006 [ [http://blog.limkitsiang.com/2008/06/21/rpks-bombshell-allegation-on-altantuya-murder-abdullah-najib-rosmah-cannot-remain-silent/ Lim Kit Siang » Blog Archive » RPK’s bombshell allegation on Altantuya murder - Abdullah, Najib, Rosmah cannot remain silent ] ] . He wrote that Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, and Acting Colonel Aziz Buyong and his wife, Norhayati, Rosmah’s aide-de-camp, were present at the scene of the murder and that Aziz Buyong was the individual who placed C4 plastic explosive on Altantuya’s body and blew it up. [cite news | title=Malaysian Deputy Premier’s Wife Linked to Murder | date=2008-06-23 | publisher=Asian Sentinel | url =http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1277&Itemid=34 | work =Asian Sentinel | pages = | accessdate = 2008-06-23 | language = ] The statutory declaration also mentioned that every information he obtained regarding the above allegations were contained in a Military Intelligence reports received by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, implying knowledge on the part of the Prime Minister. [cite web|publisher=Malaysia Today|title=Rosmah at murder scene|work=No Holds Barred|date=June 21, 2008|accessdate=2008-06-23|url=http://www.malaysia-today.net/2008/content/view/9050/84/]

In retaliation, the two people named in Raja Petra Kamarudin’s statutory declaration on June 18, Lt-Col Aziz Buyong and his wife Lt-Col Norhayati Hassan, who were alleged to have been present at the murder scene of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu sued the Malaysia Today editor for defamation. Aziz is seeking an apology from Raja Petra to be published in certain websites and newspapers, the removal of the statutory declaration from his blog and damages of RM1 million. [cite news | title=Two sue Raja Petra over statutory declaration | date=2008-06-28 | publisher=Malaysia Today | url =http://www.malaysia-today.net/2008/content/view/9328/ | work =Malaysia Today | pages = | accessdate = 2008-06-28 | language = ]

The police recorded Raja Petra’s statement at the Sentul Police Station on Saturday, 5 July 2008. He was repeatedly asked the identity of the informer named in his Statutory Declaration but Raja Petra stood firm and refused to reveal the informer’s identity and told the police he was prepared to go to jail if necessary just to protect the informer. Raja Petra revealed that he met Bala the night before the press conference of Thursday, 3 July 2008 in which Bala linked the Deputy Prime Minister to the murdered Mongolian woman. Raja Petra then had spent six hours with him, finding out Bala had spent two months working on his statutory declaration. According to Raja Petra, he met Bala who had been working on his Statutory Declaration over a period of two months and he appeared high-spirited and very excited and did not at all gave an appearance that he was under duress. On July 4, 2008 Bala suddenly changed his stand and appeared very disturbed, giving an impression that someone had got to him and had forced him to sign a second Statutory Declaration which said that he lied in his first Statutory Declaration and had signed it under duress. In light of what happened to Bala, Raja Petra said it would not be wise to reveal the identity of the informer at this stage. [cite news | title=Raja Petra’s lawyer summoned to the police station | date=2008-07-09 | publisher=Malaysia Today | url =http://www.malaysia-today.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9655&Itemid=1 | work =Malaysia Today | pages = | accessdate = 2008-07-09 | language = ]

edition Trial

On 6 October, 2008 Raja Petra went on trial on sedition charges for allegedly implying the Najib Razak was involved in the murder of the Mongolian woman. The sedition charge stemmed from an article titled "Let's Send the Altantuya Murderers to Hell" that Raja Petra posted on the Malaysia Today website. [cite news | title=Raja Petra Kamarudin's sedition trial today| date=2008-10-06 | publisher=News Straits Times |url =http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Monday/NewsBreak/20081006094437/Article/index_html | accessdate = 2008-10-10] [cite news | title=Raja Petra in court facing sedition charge| date=2008-10-06 | publisher=TheStar Online| url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/10/6/nation/20081006091101&sec=nation | accessdate = 2008-10-10]

Anwar Ibrahim Sodomy Case

On 14 August, the Malaysian High court ordered a Raja Petra to reveal his sources used in articles that alleged sodomy accusations against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim were fabricated. Raja Petra had in three articles posted on his blog implied that lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah was behind the sodomy accusations by Anwar's 23-year-old aide. Muhammad Shafee obtained the court order on 13 August against Raja Petra, ordering him to reveal the sources of the three articles published this month, and the identities of those who commented on them. The court also ordered him to remove the articles and all comments within two days and refrain from publishing similar allegations. Raja Petra has said he won't reveal his sources and did not know the identity of the commentators in his website. [cite news | title=Malaysian court orders blogger to reveal sources | date=2008-08-14 | publisher=Yahoo! News | url =http://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/ap/20080814/tap-as-malaysia-blogger-sued-b3c65ae.html | work =Associated Press | accessdate = 2008-08-14] [cite news | title=Raja Petra ordered to reveal source and reader IDs| date=2008-08-13 | publisher=TheStar | url =http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/8/13/nation/20080813205826&sec=nation| work =Cecil Fung | accessdate = 2008-08-13]

On August 15, Datuk Muhammad Shafee Abdullah surprised many people at the Magistrate's Court here when he slammed down a set of documents containing a court order and a writ of summons, to show displeasure towards blogger Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin when the latter refused to accept them. This angered Muhammad Shafee who then slammed down the documents but Raja Petra and his lawyers ignored the documents. The documents were the writ of summons filed by Muhammad Shafee against Raja Petra for publishing three articles in the web blog 'Malaysia-Today' which he claimed were slanderous. The three articles were published on August 6, 7 and 11 August under the heading 'Abdullah: Sodomologist Extraordinaire'; 'Money, Power and Sex: What Motivates Man' and 'The Real Dalang Behind The Anwar Sodomy Allegation'. In the writ of summons, Muhammad Shafee sought an injunction to prevent Raja Petra from publishing the articles and comments sent in by visitors to the web blog besides an order to retract all the comments and articles. In addition, it also contained an order from the High Court here for Raja Petra to retract the three articles in the web blog 'Malaysia Today' which were alleged to slander Muhammad Shafee. [cite news | title=Lawyer Shafee slams down documents, RPK ignores him| date=2008-08-15 | publisher=Sun2Surf | url =http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=24779| work =Bernama | accessdate = 2008-08-15] [cite news | title=Raja Petra, Shafee feud spills over to drama in court | date=2008-08-16 | publisher=NST | url =http://www.nst.com.my/Saturday/Frontpage/2322711/Article/index_html| work =NST | accessdate = 2008-08-16]

Police, on 22 August raided the home of Raja Petra, connection with a defamation suit about articles claiming that sodomy charges recently brought against opposition parliamentarian Anwar Ibrahim were trumped up. A computer, a scanner and documents were seized. [cite news | title=Malaysia: police raid online newspaper editor’s home | date=2008-08-22 | publisher=Reporters Without Borders | url =http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=28270| work =RSF.org | accessdate = 2008-08-22]

Feud with Najib Tun Razak

On July 16, 2008 the Malaysian police have obtained a warrant of arrest against Raja Petra for criminal defamation. This is due to his statutory declaration connecting Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, saying she was present when Mongolian national Altantunya Shaariibuu’s body was blown up. [cite news| title=Warrant of arrest issued against Raja Petra Kamaruddin|date=2008-07-16| publisher=NST|url= http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Wednesday/Frontpage/20080716181605/Article/index_html | work =News Straits Time | pages = | accessdate = 2008-07-16 | language = ] On July 17, Raja Petra was charged with three counts of criminal intimidation over his statutory declaration on the murder of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu. He is alleged to have defamed Deputy Prime Minister's wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor by making a libellous statement in the declaration which he affirmed on June 18 when he knew that it would tarnish her good name. He also faced similar charges against Kolonel Norhayati Hassan and her husband Acting Kolonel Abdul Aziz Buyong. [cite news| title=Raja Petra charged, released |date=2008-07-17| publisher=TheStar|url= http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/7/17/nation/20080717110758&sec=nation | work = TheStar | pages = | accessdate = 2008-07-17 | language = ] Legal sources in Malaysia have questioned why the criminal libel charge, a government offense, was filed rather than a civil action by either Najib or Rosmah. They have pointed out that Rosmah has no official government position and is just the wife of a politician, which hardly warrants state interference. [cite news| title=Malaysia’s Najib Ducks a Court Appearance |date=2008-07-24| publisher=TheStar|url= http://asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1344&Itemid=31 | work = Asian Sentinel | pages = | accessdate = 2008-07-24 | language = ]

On July 22, 2008 the two lieutenant colonels from the army have sued blogger Raja Petra for defamation over his allegations that the couple was at the crime scene the night Altantuya Shaariibuu was murdered. Lt Kol Abdul Aziz Buyong and Lt Kol Norhayati Hassan are seeking RM1mil each in damages from the Malaysia Today editor as well as exemplary damages, costs and interest. [cite news| title=Two sue Raja Petra for defamation |date=2008-07-22| publisher=TheStar|url= http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/7/22/nation/20080722153836&sec=nation | work = TheStar | pages = | accessdate = 2008-07-22 | language = ]

Raja Petra who has vowed to deny Najib a chance to be Prime Minister, put up the sworn statement on this Malaysia Today website by Thagarajoo Thangavelu who claimed to be a driver for businessman Datuk Kenneth Eswaran and formerly for politician Datuk K.S. Nallakaruppan in a posting titled "Najib: Muslim by birth, Hindu by practice". In the statutory declaration dated Aug 22 and made in Kuala Lumpur, Thagarajoo claimed Eswaran was a close friend of Najib and had brought a Hindu priest from Kerala named Mr. Ji to perform rituals regularly at the deputy prime minister's private residence in Jalan Duta and also at the official residence in Putrajaya. He also claimed that the priest had performed similar rituals before the Ijok by-election to ensure Barisan Nasional's victory and also to prevent prime minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi from marrying Datin Seri Jeanne Abdullah. [ [http://malaysia-today.net/2008/content/view/11709/84/ Battle heats up with sworn statement of Najib's "Hindu practises" ] Malaysia Today, 24 August 2008. ] [ [http://themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/8083-battle-heats-up-with-sworn-statement-of-najibs-qhindu-practisesq/ Battle heats up with sworn statement of Najib's 'Hindu practices' ] Malaysia Insider, 25 August 2008.] Even behind bars, Raja Petra's website carried a report detailing allegations on an exchange of text messages between Najib and Shafee Abdullah, the prominent lawyer who represented Abdul Razak Baginda before he was charged with abetting two police officers in the murder of the Altantunya. The SMSes, which went on from 8 November to 2 December, 2006 raises some questions over the handling of the murder case and suggests that Najib took a strong interest in the investigation from the beginning. [cite news| title=Najib under pressure, again |date=2008-10-11| publisher=Malaysian Insider|url= http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/10355-najib-under-pressure-again| work = The MalaysianInsider| accessdate = 2008-10-11]

References

* [http://malaysia-today.net Malaysia today main page]
* [http://www.blogger.com/profile/2933506 Raja Petra Kamarudin's blog profile] ----