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PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHKL #0355/01 1290832
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 080832Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0937
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHHMUNA/USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUALA LUMPUR 000355 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR EAP/MTS AND DRL - JANE KIM 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/18/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR KDEM KPAO MY
SUBJECT: UNPRECEDENTED SEDITION CHARGES AGAINST BLOGGER 
 
REF: A. A) KL 130 - PRESS STIFLED IN ALTANTUYA TRIAL 
     ¶B. B) KL 73 - PROSECUTOR DOWNBEAT ON ALTANTUYA CASE 
     ¶C. C) 2007 KL 291 )RAZAK BAGINDA CASE 
 
Classified By: Political Section Chief Mark D. Clark for reasons 1.4 (b 
 and d). 
 
 ¶1. (C)  Summary. For the first time, Malaysian authorities 
have resorted to a colonial-era law to bring sedition charges 
against a blogger and the author of a comment on an internet 
web site.  Blogger and veteran anti-government activist Raja 
Petra Kamaruddin touched a sensitive nerve in implying that 
DPM Najib Tun Razak and his wife were connected to 2006 
murder of a young Mongolian interpreter, Altantuya Shaaribuu 
(reftels).  He also accused PM Abdullah of holding on to 
evidence that implicates his deputy to &keep Najib in 
line.8  Visiting EAP DAS Marciel raised the issue with 
Deputy Home Minister Wan Farid on May 6, and Wan Farid 
indicated the proceedings against Raja Petra should be a 
warning to other bloggers.  The Raja Petra case will continue 
to keep public focus on the Altantuya case and allegations of 
Najib's involvement.  Prosecuting a blogger for sedition also 
complicates Prime Minister Abdullah's efforts to be seen as a 
reformer.  End summary. 
 
Colonial-era Sedition Act utilized 
--------------------------------- 
¶2. (SBU) On May 6 Malaysian Police charged blogger Raja Petra 
Kamaruddin and Syed Ali Akhbar, who posted a comment on Raja 
Petra's website, with sedition.  This is the first time 
Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act (enacted by British 
colonial authorities in 1948) has been used in response to 
material appearing on the internet.  The Section reads, &Any 
person who prints, publishes, sells, offers for sale, 
distributes or reproduces any seditious publication8 can be 
charged with sedition.  If found guilty, Raja Petra and Syed 
Ali could be jailed for a maximum of three years and/or face 
a fine of up to USD1,600.  Syed Ali was released on bail 
after pleading not guilty and the court fixed June 10 to hear 
submissions by the defense and prosecution on a preliminary 
objection raised by the defense, which claimed that the 
charge was groundless.  Raja Petra initially refused to post 
bail and was remanded at the Sungai Buloh prison, but on May 
8 he changed his stance and he was scheduled to be released 
on bail May 9.  His trial is fixed for October 6-10. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Another prominent blogger described Raja Petra,s 
action to poloffs as a gambit to ¬ only generate 
publicity for himself but also for his news portal Malaysia 
Today (www.malaysia-today.net).8  The local blogger 
community as a whole has reacted with outrage to what is seen 
as a threat to the free exchange of ideas on the internet. 
The Malaysian Bar Council called on the authorities to 
withdraw the charges against Raja Petra and Syed Ali, 
describing the relevant section of the Sedition Act as &a 
draconian, archaic and repressive legislation that has long 
outlived any perceived utility it might ever have had.8  A 
number of prominent civil society groups issued a statement 
characterizing Raja Petra,s arrest as &politically 
motivated and aimed at silencing principled and 
uncompromising voice speaking against the abuse of power, 
including those stemming from the highest level of government 
and authority.8 
 
¶4.  (C) DPM Najib publicly denied that the arrests were 
politically motivated or an indication of government 
intentions to crack down on internet sites.  Visiting EAP DAS 
Scot Marciel raised the case with Deputy Home Minister Wan 
Farid on May 6 and questioned why the government was using 
sedition charges in such a case.  Wan Farid said bloggers 
could not be allowed to accuse people of murder and not back 
up such claims.  "You can't just (post) anything on the 
internet," and not expect consequences, indicating this was a 
warning to other bloggers.  The government would proceed with 
the case in court, Wan Farid said. 
 
Raja Petra ) a thorn in UMNO,s side 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Raja Petra was charged after posting an article on 
his website on April 25 entitled &Let,s send the Altantuya 
murderers to hell8 that implied that DPM Najib Tun Razak and 
his wife Rosmah Mansor were connected to the 2006 murder of a 
young Mongolian interpreter, Altantuya Shaaribuu.  He also 
accused PM Abdullah of holding on to evidence that implicates 
his deputy in order to &keep Najib in line.8  Two police 
officers from the security detail of DPM Najib have been 
charged for killing Altantuya, while Abdul Razak Baginda, a 
close associate of DPM Najib, was charged with abetting the 
murder.  The murder trial that began in June 2007 has been 
dragging along for nearly a year, giving rise to suggestions 
of deliberate delays for political reasons (Ref A ). 
 
¶6.  (SBU) This is not the first time Raja Petra, a cousin of 
the current Sultan of Selangor, has challenged the ruling 
establishment. He was one of the key leaders of the 
&reformasi movement8 launched in September 1998 by former 
DPM Anwar.  In 2000 he became the Director of the Free Anwar 
Campaign (FAC) and founded the &FAC website8 that regularly 
posted articles criticizing the government.  In 2001 he was 
detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) and held for 
52 days before being released unconditionally, reportedly due 
to pressure from his uncle the then King, the late Sultan of 
Selangor.  In July 2007 he was detained, questioned and 
released after UMNO Information Chief Muhammad Muhammad Taib 
filed a police report against him for allegedly insulting the 
King and Islam. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Raja Petra launched Malaysia Today in August 2004 
&to test how far Malaysia under its new Prime Minister (PM 
Abdullah) can honor, respect and tolerate free speech."  The 
blog  grew to an average of 1.5 million hits a day and was 
voted one of the top ten websites by local internet users in 
¶2007.  One reporter describes it as Malaysia,s answer to the 
U.S. &Drudge Report,8 a news aggregation site, &dedicated 
to entertaining tales of political intrigue.8  In meetings 
with poloffs, Raja Petra has nevertheless insisted that all 
of his reports are backed by &hard evidence.8 
 
¶8. (SBU) UMNO leaders have blamed internet media and 
bloggers, in particular Raja Petra, as contributing to the 
BN,s setback in the March election.  Raja Petra agreed, 
telling reporters on May 6, &They lost in the election 
because of the internet war. Malaysia Today was one of the 
'culprits'.8 He added that his defense team would prove 
there was no case against him and that it was a matter of 
&political persecution8. One sympathetic academic described 
the action against Raja Petra as &the return to sledgehammer 
rule by UMNO,.8  but added recalcitrant bloggers like Raja 
Petra threaten UMNO,s survival, because the ruling party has 
failed to find a formula for countering its internet critics. 
 
Syed Akhbar Ali: &Easy to Impress the Malays8 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶9. (SBU) In Syed Akhbar Ali,s case, the author was belatedly 
charged for posting a comment in June 2007 on a Raja Petra 
authored Malaysia Today piece alleging strong links between 
Inspector General of Police Musa Hassan and a major organized 
crime syndicate.  Raja Petra had written that the syndicate 
protected by the IGP was involved in &prostitution, drugs, 
and illegal gambling.8  In his comment, titled &Easy to 
Impress the Malays,8 Akhbar used crude language in 
maintaining that massage centers are mushrooming in the city 
due to the sudden increase in Arab visitors, and in a similar 
vein went on to make some scurrilous comments about the Arabs 
and Islam, and the naivety of Malays in accepting Arab ideas. 
 
Comment 
----------- 
 
¶10.  (C) In another indication of the growing influence of 
internet media, both DPM Najib and his wife have been 
compelled to go public in responding to Raja Petra,s report, 
maintaining that the allegations are &unfounded and 
unfair.8  The Raja Petra case will continue to keep public 
attention on the Altantuya murder and on allegations of 
Najib's involvement in the crime at a time when Prime 
Minister Abdullah has announced Najib as his eventual 
successor.  Prosecuting a blogger for sedition complicates 
Prime Minister Abdullah's efforts to be seen as a reformer 
and will further boost the profile of Malaysia's 
anti-government internet activists. 

KEITH