Umno salvaging the political savages…

By trying to pull the curtains on Raja Petra and Malaysia Today ——————————————————————————- Umno lodges report against Malaysia Today

Jul 23, 07 2:46pm

Umno has filed a police report against political website Malaysia Today for allegedly publishing disparaging remarks against the King and Islam. The report was filed at the Dang Wangi police station by Umno information chief Muhammad Muhammad Taib this afternoon. He was accompanied by some 30 people. When contacted, Dang Wangi district police chief ACP Mohamad Zulkarnain Abdul Rahman confirmed that a report was lodged. “We will investigate the matter,” he told malaysiakini. Raja Petra is to be investigated under the Sedition Act, Penal Code and the Multimedia and Communications Act. Taib told reporters later that the report was regarding remarks published on the website on July 11 and several other articles. He claimed that the postings and articles were disrespectful to the King and Islam. “It was over a report which had insulted the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the monarchy. It had also insulted and poked fun at Islam as the official religion of the federation,” he was quoted as saying by Bernama. According to him, comments posted on the blogsite also incited hate between the various races and could affect unity and national security. “The reports contain criminal elements which could incite anyone and cause fear. Maybe these people (bloggers) had forgotten that Malaysia is a country with many sensitivities,” he said. Taib, who is Kelana Jaya Umno division leader, said such postings and articles could have a negative influence on the younger generation and urged for the police to take swift action. He added that he had been advised against divulging the statements and comments to the media as they were too sensitive. “As responsible citizens, we cannot allow such articles to be posted on blogsites and urged the authorities to act in accordance with the law.” Conspiracy theory In an article published on Malaysia Today, Raja Petra (left) wrote on the possibility of efforts being mounted to close his website down and have him arrested. In the article titled ‘A game of cat and mouse‘, he claimed that the “intelligence community” informed him that Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman and Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan had met Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in Australia recently to discuss this matter. Malaysia Today had published numerous articles containing allegations of corruption and abuse of power against the chief minister and police chief, which had since been denied. The website had also been highly critical of the prime minister and his son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin, who is also Umno Youth deputy chief. Meanwhile, Raja Petra, when contacted later, declined to comment on the report. The police report today came hot in the heels of the July 13 arrest of blogger and PKR webmaster Nathaniel Tan (left) under the Official Secrets Act. Tan, who was detained for four days, was released on police bail last Tuesday. Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak today denied that the flurry of police reports made against the bloggers was a crackdown. “Our country has laws which must be respected,” he told reporters at a function today. malaysiakini.com