Raja Petra’s arrest a warning to bloggers

Bernama, September 13, 2008

BAGAN DATOH: The arrest of blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin under the Internal Security Act (ISA) yesterday afternoon should serve as a warning to irresponsible bloggers who flout the law, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

He said many bloggers might be thinking that they could get away from facing the ISA if their blogs were based overseas and therefore not subjected to this country’s laws.

“It is not appropriate that the ISA is used against Raja Petra while the other irresponsible bloggers are free to do as they please,” he told reporters at Kampung Sungai Burung, here yesterday.

He was commenting on Raja Petra’s arrest following his article titled ‘I promise to be a good, non-hypocritical Muslim’ which contained remarks that insulted Muslims, besides allowing postings that insulted Islam and Prophet Muhammad in the article, ‘Not all Arabs are descendants of the Prophet’, that appeared in the ‘Malaysia Today’ website.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also MP for Bagan Datoh, believed that the police would also act against other bloggers who hurt racial and religious sensitivities through their articles or comments.

“Any statement that incites the people cannot be ignored but must be dealt with sternly in accordance with the law’ against the offender,” he said.