THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Yes, guilty as charged. I have stolen this line from Shakespeare. But
I can't help it. What better way to describe the eight hours I spent
under interrogation at the Dang Wangi Police Station yesterday other
than it was a comedy of errors? By the way, before I go on, I have
received more than a thousand phone calls, SMSes and e-mails from
well-wishers and supporters. I have not found the time to reply to
each and everyone yet so I hope you will forgive me for my rudeness.
I am certainly touched by the concern and the messages of support
posted in Malaysia Today's blogs. From the bottom of my heart, and
with sincere humility, I thank you all and promise you that the fight
for more freedom in Malaysia shall continue come hell or high water.
I received a call from the police at 8.00am yesterday that they want
to record my statement on the police report lodged by an ex-Selangor
Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name. I saw the phone call
coming and was not only expecting it but was hoping that they would
summon me for interrogation so that I can expose this entire episode
for the farce that it really is. In short, I pushed their hand with
the 'See you in hell Muhamad son of Muhamad' article so that they
would be forced to make their move on me.
They wanted me in at 10 but I told them I can only make it at 11. I
wanted to update the website first in case my visit to Dang Wangi
ends up a two-week stay.
According to the press reports, the police report made against me was
with regards to an article I wrote on 11 July 2007 that they regard
as insulting the Agong and Islam. By the way, in case you did not
know, Malaysia does not have a king so please stop referring to the
Agong as King. Agong does not translate to king. Agong means supreme
and it merely means he is the Supreme Ruler of the nine rulers, a
sort of 'first amongst equals' situation.
I brought along two shopping bags of four copies of the Quran in
Arabic, English and Bahasa Malaysia, the Salasilah or family tree of
the Selangor Sultanate, and an 'approved' version of Selangor's
history written by Buyung Adil. I could of course have also included
Joginder Singh Jessy's, DJ Tate's and Winsted's versions as well, but
I thought the Buyung Adil version, which is in Bahasa Malaysia, would
be less strenuous on the more simple-minded.
The police informed me that my interrogation was not about my article
of 11 July 2007. In fact, on 11 July 2007, I never wrote any article.
I did on 8 July though and again on 13 July, but never on 11 July.
According to what the newspapers reported, I was alleged to have
insulted the Agong and Islam, so the purpose of the two shopping bags
of books was to debate Islam and the Agong with those who were about
to interrogate me. But they did not want to talk about any of my
articles. They only wanted to talk about some of the comments in the
blogs posted by Malaysia Today's readers.
I told the police I refuse to talk about the comments in the blogs. I
did not write these comments so I refuse to talk about what I did not
write. I only want to talk about what I wrote and defend myself
against charges that I have insulted the Agong and Islam. But no, the
police did not want to talk about my articles. They only wanted to
talk about the comments in the blogs.
I told the police I still refuse to talk about the comments and if
therefore they want to charge me for sedition under the Sedition Act
then go ahead. I banged the table with my fist and shouted, "Charge
me! Charge me now!" The police said that they do not wish to charge
me yet but only to take my statement. I can refuse to reply if I wish
or reply that I do not know anything. But they have no choice but to
take my statement because a police report had been made against me.
It boggles the mind that they MUST take my statement barely two days
after the police report against me was made whereas they do not feel
they MUST do anything on the hundreds upon hundreds of other police
reports made the last ten years or so since 1998. Take, as one
example, the police report made by four Umno delegates to the Kubang
Pasu AGM last year alleging that they were each bribed RM200 to not
vote for Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Malaysia Today published copies of
these police reports. One of the Umno delegates who made the police
report was subsequently beaten up in his house in front of his
family. He made a second police report on the beating and even
fingered those who had beaten him up because he knew them personally.
Again, nothing was done. So this MUST take your statement once a
police report has been made against you is as truthful as I am still
a virgin.
When that ex-Selangor Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name
went to the Dang Wangi Police Station on Monday to lodge his police
report, he did not have any details to support the allegation that
Malaysia Today had insulted the Agong and Islam. He was told that the
evidence to support this allegation must be attached to the police
report. They then tried to get onto the internet to access Malaysia
Today so that they could look for the evidence. But they did not know
how to and could not find Malaysia Today.
They then enlisted the help of a journalist from one of the Chinese
newspapers who was there covering the event. Through the good help of
this Chinese reporter, they finally found Malaysia Today and went
through the comments in the blogs to find the evidence that they
needed to support the police report.
Malaysia Today was launched on 13 August 2004 and since then we have
about 20,000 or so items with an estimated five million comments in
the blogs. Looking for the evidence would be like looking for a
needle in a haystack. We must note that at this point of time they
had lodged a police report but lacked the evidence. They were now
putting the cart before the horse. They now needed the evidence to
support the police report.
They finally found about a dozen or so postings amongst five million
that looked strong enough to prove that Malaysia Today has insulted
the Agong and Islam. One was my own posting that said if you insult
any race or religion then I would have no choice but to delete your
posting and ban you from further posting comments in Malaysia Today.
Another was by Indianputra who was appealing to Malaysia Today's
readers not to fight and argue as some people might take advantage of
the squabbling and exploit it to divide the races. What we want is a
peaceful country, argued Indianputra, so if we engage in a civil
manner then we will be able to unite all the races. And so on and so
forth. Basically, this was the evidence they were working on to prove
that Malaysia Today insulted the Agong and Islam.
I asked the police whether these postings are insulting the Agong,
insulting Islam, and are trying to divide the races, or whether they
are actually the reverse. The face of the ASP interrogating me turned
red as he tried to explain that he was just doing his job and that he
was ordered to take my statement. I replied that the person who made
the police report is a stupid person who can't speak English. So what
do you expect from someone like that? He can't even understand
comments that are appealing for national unity and instead interpret
it as calling for racial strife.
"Do you know that that orang bodoh ran away with the Sultan's
daughter and then denied it?" I asked the police. They just smiled.
"Well, I am going to reveal this to the world," I continued. "I am
going to publish the letter he wrote to the Sultan where he denied he
had married the Sultan's daughter whereas he had in fact already
secretly married her in Thailand. You tengoklah. I akan balun si
bodoh tu habis-habis."
The police appeared amused at what I had to say although their only
retort was, "Banyak maklumat kita dapat hari ini."
They then wanted to know the identity of those who post comments in
Malaysia Today's blogs. I told them I do not know who they are but I
do know that amongst them are 25 Umno cyber-troopers headed by
Azalina and Norza.
"Azalina?" they asked.
"Yes, Azalina lesbian," I replied.
"Oh, Azalina Othman." Apparently they know who I meant by Azalina
lesbian.
"I did not say Azalina Othman. I said Azalina lesbian. You are
supposed to record everything I say the way I say it. That is what a
cautioned statement under Section 112 is all about. Saya kata Azalina
lesbian. Bukan Azalina Othman. You record what I say and I will sign
the statement."
The second police officer stopped typing and scratched his head with
a sheepish grin on his face. "Okaylah, I don't want you to get into
any trouble. Drop the lesbian and change it to Othman." The second
officer continued typing while chuckling. He was certainly enjoying
himself.
I pointed out a few IDs that belonged to the Umno cyber-troopers and
the second officer recorded them down. "How do you know they are Umno
cyber-troopers?" the first officer asked me.
"Because I have received information from inside Umno," I replied.
"You have people planted in Umno?"
"Of course I do, and I bribe them to feed me information. I just slam
RM1,000 onto the table and ask them to tell me everything and they
sing like a canary. It is not that hard to buy information."
The four police officers in the room smiled and shook their heads in
disbelief. "Can we record this in your statement?"
"Of course you can. The reason I am telling you this is so that you
can record it in my statement. I want it on record that Umno is
attacking Malaysia Today with 25 cyber-troopers and they are the ones
who are posting racial statements. Sometimes they even masquerade as
Chinese and whack the Malays and Islam. Then other cyber-troopers
would respond and whack the Chinese. The Umno cyber-troopers are the
ones behind this racial and religious bashing in Malaysia Today. Then
they make a police report alleging that Malaysia Today insults Islam
and stirs racial sentiments."
All this exchange was of course recorded as anything you say under
Section 112 interrogation is recorded and you are made to sign the
statement at the end of the interrogation. And you go to jail if you
make a false statement.
At the end of the eight-hour interrogation, I asked them whether we
are finished and they said yes. "Okay, now I want to make my
additional statement," I informed the police.
"Of course, we will ask you before we end whether you want to add
anything more to your statement. That is the procedure."
"Okay, now I will make that statement. Malaysia Today's domain name
is registered in the UK," I told the police. When you click on the
domain name malaysia-today.net you are sent to the server of the
registered IP address in that domain name. Our server is in
Singapore. But what you see is only the front page. Then you choose
which item on the front page you want to read and you are sent to the
blog. The blog sits in the US. When you post a comment it goes
straight to the blog. For all intents and purposes, Malaysia Today is
a foreign website and not a Malaysian website. We therefore do not
come under Malaysian laws."
"Let me put it another way," I told the police. "Sodomy is a crime in
Malaysia and you can get sent to jail for nine years for the crime of
sodomy even if you are a Deputy Prime Minister. In England, men can
marry men and you will even receive a congratulatory message from the
British Prime Minister. So, sodomy is not a crime in the UK and you
do not go to jail."
"In short," I summed up. "Your Sedition Act is valid only in Malaysia
and not outside Malaysia. So you cannot impose Malaysia's Sedition
Act on Malaysia Today which resides outside Malaysia. I can actually
tell you to go to hell and that I will not waste eight hours
answering all your questions. But I do not want you to think I am
sombong so I was prepared to spend eight hours with you answering all
your questions as I know you have a job to do and it is not your fault."
I knew this officer was under tremendous pressure because every half
an hour he would receive a phone call from his OCPD as well as the
IGP asking about the progress of the interrogation. The top bosses
were monitoring the whole situation and my interrogation was not a
routine one at all. One senior Chinese officer who sat there the
entire duration without opening his mouth revealed his true role when
the only time he spoke was to utter the statement that I am trying to
topple the IGP. That was what the police really wanted. It was
payback time for the revelations of the links between the IGP and the
Chinese organised crime syndicate.
Umno, however, had other motives. It was not about Malaysia Today
insulting the Agong or Islam. They did not even have any evidence of
this until that Chinese reporter helped them get onto the internet
and access Malaysia Today's website. What they were perturbed about
is my article in my column No Holds Barred on 8 July 2007 about the
powers of the Agong.
If you read Article 150 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia --
which I have reproduced below -- you can see that the Agong has the
power to remove the Prime Minister if the Agong perceives the Prime
Minister as totally incompetent and a danger to the economic life and
well-being of Malaysians. Of course, this has never been done before
except in 1969 to address the problem of the May 13 race riots. But
this does not mean it cannot be done, just that it has never been
done or done only once in 1969.
Note the key points in Article 150 such as:
1) If the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is satisfied
2) That a grave emergency exists
3) Whereby the security, or the economic life, or public order in the
Federation or any part thereof is threatened
4) He may issue a Proclamation of Emergency making therein a
declaration to that effect.
5) A Proclamation of Emergency may be issued before the actual
occurrence of the event which threatens the security, or the economic
life, or public order in the Federation
6) Except when both Houses of Parliament are sitting concurrently
7) The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is satisfied that certain circumstances
exist which render it necessary for him to take immediate action
8) He may promulgate such ordinances as circumstances appear to him
to require.
9) The Houses of Parliament shall be regarded as sitting only if the
members of each House are respectively assembled together
Now, Article 150 is very clear in that the Agong can interpret the
situation as he sees it and take action that he thinks is befitting
the situation. Basically, it is his opinion and only his opinion that
rules and he can act based on his opinion.
When this article was first published on 8 July 2007, it sent
shockwaves right through the fourth floor and right up to the fifth
floor of the Prime Minister's office in Putrajaya. They suddenly
realised that if the Agong perceives the Prime Minister as
incompetent and a danger to this country, then the Agong can remove
the Prime Minister and appoint anyone he so wishes to replace the
Prime Minister. It need not be the Deputy Prime Minister or any of
the Umno leaders. In theory, it can even be the Agong's gardener if
the Agong thinks he is better than the Prime Minister and the best
man to lead this country.
And that was when Abdullah Ahmad Badawi decided to quietly sneak out
of the country with his entire family. They suspected that this
article of 8 July 2007 was not a coincidence but was instead a hint
that the Agong may act within his powers under the Federal
Constitution of Malaysia to sack the Prime Minister and replace him
with someone better. The Prime Minister then summoned the IGP and the
Director of the Special Branch to Australia to obtain feedback as to
whether he is in danger of being ousted.
Earlier, Abdullah had announced the extension of the IGP's tenure on
contract basis beyond 13 September 2007 when he is supposed to
retire. Abdullah received a major blow yesterday during the Rulers'
Conference when the Rulers expressed displeasure at Abdullah's
announcement of this extension without first informing them about it.
This was the Rulers' very strong message to Abdullah that they are
not happy with the way he is running this country.
Abdullah is worried that Malaysia Today might be playing a role of
'instigating' the Rulers to sack him. They then sat down and came out
with a plan to turn the Rulers against Malaysia Today by accusing
Malaysia Today of insulting the Agong and Islam. They hope that by
doing this the Rulers would get angry with Malaysia Today and be very
grateful to Abdullah for putting Raja Petra in jail and in that same
process protect and defend the image and dignity of the Rulers. In
short, Abdullah wants the Rulers to think that Malaysia Today is
their enemy while the Prime Minister is their friend. So, no need to
sack Abdullah. Instead, put Raja Petra in jail. And with that
Abdullah and his family can continue to live happily ever after as
the First Family of Malaysia.
Abdullah is due back on 27 July 2007. According to his office, he may
delay his return until the first week of August. Abdullah was hoping
that by the time he returns on 27 July 2007, Raja Petra would be
safely tucked away behind the high walls of the Sungai Buloh Prison
and he can then request an audience with the Agong to inform the
Agong how he defended the image and dignity of the Agong by punishing
Raja Petra for the crime of insulting the Agong and Islam.
But they sent a fool to undertake the job of assassinating Raja
Petra. This ex-Selangor Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name
botched the mission. Abdullah now has to rethink his strategy as well
as the date of his return home. Would he still be walking in the
corridors of power or would he have to stay in Australia and apply
for PR status? Yes, we live in interesting times. A certain Datuk
from Abdullah's camp phoned me last night and I told this Datuk to
inform his boss that Raja Petra is bent on destroying Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi and ensure that all that remains of him is a pile of dust. An
Uncle to the Agong phoned me two days ago and said "Bodoh betul Mat
Taib!"
Round One: Raja Petra. But will I also win Round Two? I don't know
yet. We will have to wait and see. Time will of course tell. But what
I do know, it is a fight to the death and I really do not care
whether that will be me.
Article 150 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia
(1) If the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is satisfied that a grave emergency
exists whereby the security, or the economic life, or public order in
the Federation or any part thereof is threatened, he may issue a
Proclamation of Emergency making therein a declaration to that effect.
(2) A Proclamation of Emergency under Clause (1) may be issued before
the actual occurrence of the event which threatens the security, or
the economic life, or public order in the Federation or any part
thereof if the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is satisfied that there is
imminent danger of the occurrence of such event.
(2A) The power conferred on the Yang di-Pertuan Agong by this Article
shall include the power to issue different Proclamations on different
grounds or in different circumstances, whether or not there is a
Proclamation or Proclamations already issued by the Yang di-Pertuan
Agong under Clause (1) and such Proclamation or Proclamations are in
operation.
(2B) If at any time while a Proclamation of Emergency is in
operation, except when both Houses of Parliament are sitting
concurrently, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is satisfied that certain
circumstances exist which render it necessary for him to take
immediate action, he may promulgate such ordinances as circumstances
appear to him to require.
(2C) An ordinance promulgated under Clause (2B) shall have the same
force and effect as an Act of Parliament, and shall continue in full
force and effect as if it is an Act of Parliament until it is revoked
or annulled under Clause (3) or until it lapses under Clause (7); and
the power of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to promulgate ordinances under
Clause (2B) may be exercised in relation to any matter with respect
to which Parliament has power to make laws regardless of the
legislative or other procedures required to be followed, or the
proportion of the total votes required to be had, in either House of
Parliament.
(3) A Proclamation of Emergency and any ordinance promulgated under
Clause (2B) shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament and, if
not sooner revoked, shall cease to have effect if resolutions are
passed by both Houses annulling such Proclamation or ordinance, but
without prejudice to anything previously done by virtue thereof or to
the power of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to issue a new Proclamation
under Clause (1) or promulgate any ordinance under Clause (2B).
(4) While a Proclamation of Emergency is in force the executive
authority of the Federation shall, notwithstanding anything in this
Constitution, extent to any matter within the legislative authority
of a State and to the giving of directions to the Government of a
State or to any officer or authority thereof.
(5) Subject to Clause (6A), while a Proclamation of Emergency is in
force, Parliament may, not-withstanding anything in this Constitution
make laws with respect to any matter, if it appears to Parliament
that the law is required by reason of the emergency; and Article 79
shall not apply to a Bill for such a law or an amendment to such a
Bill, nor shall any provision of this Constitution or of any written
law which requires any consent or concurrence to the passing of a law
or any consultation with respect thereto, or which restricts the
coming into force of a law after it is passed or the presentation of
a Bill to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for his assent.
(6) Subject to Clause (6A), no provision of any ordinance promulgated
under this Article, and no provision of any Act of Parliament which
is passed while a Proclamation of Emergency is in force and which
declares that the law appears to Parliament to be required by reason
of the emergency, shall be invalid on the ground of inconsistency
with any provision of this Constitution.
(6A) Clause (5) shall not extend the powers of Parliament with
respect to any matter of Islamic law or the custom of the Malays, or
with respect to any matter of native law or custom in the State of
Sabah or Sarawak; nor shall Clause (6) validate any provision
inconsistent with the provisions of this Constitution relating to any
such matter or relating to religion, citizenship, or language.
(7) At the expiration of a period of six months beginning with the
date on which a Proclamation of Emergency ceases to be in force, any
ordinance promulgated in pursuance of the Proclamation and, to the
extent that it could not have been validly made but for this Article
any law made while the Proclamation was in force, shall cease to have
effect, except as to things done or omitted to be done before the
expiration of that period.
(8) Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution:
(a) the satisfaction of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong mentioned in Clause
(1) and Clause (2B) shall be final and conclusive and shall not be
challenged or called in question in any court on any ground; and
(b) no court shall have jurisdiction to entertain or determine any
application, question or proceeding, in whatever form, on any ground,
regarding the validity of-
(i) a Proclamation under Clauses (1) or of a declaration made in such
Proclamation to the effect stated in Clause (1);
(ii) the continued operation of such Proclamation;
(iii) any ordinance promulgated under Clause (2B); or
(iv) the continuation in force of any such ordinance.
(9) For the purpose of this Article the Houses of Parliament shall be
regarded as sitting only if the members of each House are
respectively assembled together and carrying out the business of the
House.
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