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