Sedating the Seditious

Raja Petra Kamarudin. Citizen. Cyclist. Campaigner.Writer. Blogger. Jailbird.

Everyone wants a piece of him. The bloggers. The government. The party. The family. They all got him now. Hero, conscience and prisoner in one fell swoop when he refused to pay bail for his freedom to face trial in October.

A lot has been said and the so-called blogosphere is buzzing. Fact is, he used the medium of the Internet to publicise his conspiracy theories, allegations and innuendoes about the Mongolian model murder without much facts. He says he has the facts.

The court would be the best place to sort out the fact from fiction. But the Sedition Act 1948 is the wrong method of bringing him to account for his story. Those at the wrong end of the stick should have gone to court and sued him for defamation, libel and being brought to public odium and contempt.

That the police have to step in and get the prosecutors to charge him in a criminal court will only enhance him among his supporters and readers. This is a purely civil case similar to the Universiti Utara Malaysia's case against Raja Petra.

It would not be about the payment. It would be about name and honour. Right and wrong.

The MP for Pulai put it well. Charging Raja Petra under the Sedition Act will not sedate the seditious nor a cheap way of deleting the allegations.

The Siber Party of Malaysia (M) believes it does not take a hammer to swat a fly for the cracks are far-reaching. This is not a matter for the state but the people involved to do the deed themselves.

Raja Petra. Hero. Malaysia. Zero.