Malaysian opposition web-site raided<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): Police have seized computers used to
\nrun an opposition Web site suspected of sedition, and a judge
\nrejected a party leader's bid for bail Friday pending
\ninvestigations that he threatened to overthrow Prime Minister
\nMahathir Mohamad.<\/p>\n
The actions reflect a new crackdown on media critical of the
\ngovernment, led by Asia's longest-serving ruler, and on an
\nopposition that has managed in recent months to step up political
\ndemonstrations, some of them in Mahathir's home state.<\/p>\n
Police raided the home of Raja Petra Kamaruddin, editor of the
\nopposition National Justice Party's Web site, on Thursday and
\nseized several computers. The editor said that the site would now
\nbe operated \"offshore.\"<\/p>\n
Police Chief Bakri Zinin was cited by the Sun newspaper as
\nsaying that the raid was based on a report by one of his men that
\nan article on the site was seditious.<\/p>\n
Because of strict licensing laws which allow the government to
\nban opposition publications, Malaysia's four-party opposition
\ncoalition relies heavily on the Internet to get its message out.<\/p>\n
The Internet has been largely exempt from press restrictions
\nbecause of promises made by Mahathir to information technology
\ninvestors that the government will not try to restrict Malaysian
\ncontent.<\/p>\n
\"The police have made a mockery of the government policy not
\nto censor the Internet,\" said Raja Petra.<\/p>\n
In recent weeks, officials have delayed the distribution of
\nsome foreign news magazines and harshly criticized an independent
\nnews Web site called Malaysiakini.com.<\/p>\n
The magazines, Asiaweek and the Far Eastern Economic Review,
\nhave carried stories the government would consider negative,
\nwhile Malaysiakini is accused of receiving funds from financier
\nGeorge Soros, whom Mahathir blames for causing the 1997 Asian
\neconomic crisis. Malaysiakini denies it.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a judge refused to release Ezam Mohamad Noor, the
\nJustice Party's youth leader, from jail while police investigate
\nhim for alleged sedition over comments reported in a newspaper
\nthat he vowed to organize demonstrations daily until the
\ngovernment was ousted.<\/p>\n
Hours after the ruling, about 500 opposition supporters
\nshouted anti-Mahathir slogans outside a mosque. Riot police,
\nbacked by water cannon, looked on but did not intervene. The
\nprotesters dispersed.<\/p>\n
\"Our enemy is Mahathir,\" Azmin Ali, a Justice Party official,
\ntold the crowd. \"We will continue to protest against the
\ngovernment abuses.\"<\/p>\n
The crowd shouted \"Reformasi!\" - the party's cry for reform,
\ndating back to big street demonstrations in 1998 that were led by
\nAnwar Ibrahim after Mahathir fired him as deputy premier. His
\nwife leads the party.<\/p>\n
Street demonstrations dwindled during the two-year process
\nwhen Anwar was tried and convicted of sodomy and corruption and
\nwas sentenced to 15 years in prison.<\/p>\n
But, due partly to Ezam's organizational capabilities, the
\nopposition has managed to muster several thousand people at
\nprotests since November, prompting police baton charges and tear-
\ngassings in some cases.<\/p>\n
Ezam, who was arrested Tuesday, has denied advocating
\nviolence.<\/p>\n
Ezam had asked the High Court to quash a lower court's order
\nthat he be held in custody, but Judge Abdul Wahab Patail ruled
\nthat the police had sufficient reasons to hold him and needed
\ntime to determine if his actions had threatened national
\nsecurity.<\/p>\n
Ezam accused the newspaper that reported the suspect comments
\nof conspiring with Mahathir's United Malays National Organization
\nto ruin him and threatened to take legal action.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Ezam lost a bid to be released from police
\ndetention where he is being questioned about allegations he was
\nplanning street protests to topple the government.<\/p>\n
Ezam was appealing against his detention after a court on
\nWednesday had given the police until Saturday to investigate the
\nallegations.<\/p>",
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