Malaysian blogger vows to fight accusation of sedition

KUALA LUMPUR (AP) - A prominent political writer has pledged to fight accusations by Malaysia's ruling party that his Web site fans racial suspicion, in a case that has sparked a police probe for possible sedition and raised fears about Internet censorship.

Raja Petra Kamarudin wrote in a post late Thursday on his Web site, Malaysia Today, that he believes the government hopes to have him jailed by claiming that the contents of his site have belittled Islam and could create disharmony in this mostly Muslim, multiracial nation.

Police grilled Raja Petra on Wednesday about comments posted by readers on his site. The interrogation came after Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's United Malays National Organization lodged a police complaint earlier this week against the site, which features Raja Petra's political commentaries and news articles from various sources.

Raja Petra, who frequently accuses Abdullah and other government figures of corruption and incompetence, said he had been "hoping that (police) would summon me for interrogation so that I can expose this entire episode for the farce that it really is."

"It is a fight to the death and I really do not care whether that will be me" who loses, Raja Petra wrote. "I ... promise you that the fight for more freedom in Malaysia shall continue come hell or high water."

Police have not said whether they plan to charge Raja Petra with sedition, which carries a maximum prison term of three years and a fine. Police officials handling the case were busy and could not comment Friday, their colleagues said.

Concerns about online freedom grew after Malaysia's de facto law minister, Nazri Abdul Aziz, said Tuesday the government was drafting new laws for bloggers and would not hesitate to use existing regulations such as the Internal Security Act _ which allows for detention without trial _ against bloggers who insult Islam or stir sensitive topics.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday that "any new laws tailored to censor the Internet would represent a significant step backward for press freedom in Malaysia."

"We call upon the Malaysian authorities to immediately cease harassment of Internet journalist Raja Petra Kamarudin," Joel Simon, the group's executive director, said in a statement.

Authorities are also investigating Tian Chua, a well-known opposition politician, for possible slander after he recently posted a fake photo on his blog linking Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak to a high-profile murder. Separately, a blogger was detained by police for five days last week over comments posted on his personal Web site linking a deputy minister to corruption.