Call to expose Raja Petra's sponsors

The Star | 24 Dec 09

- Those who sponsored fugitive blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin’s stay in London should be exposed, said Batu Pahat MP Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi.

It was more crucial to know those who were supporting the blogger than to initiate extradition exercise against him, he said.

It has been reported that Raja Petra, a bankrupt, was staying in Trinity Court, a posh neighbourhood in Gloucester Bayswater in the heart of London.

“It is of national interest to ascertain the motives of the people who sponsored Raja Petra, as he is a controversial writer who is daring in his attack on the government and making claims that could undermine national security,” he said.

Dr Mohd, who is also the deputy Education Minister, said the police should also ascertain the owner of the posh apartment where Raja Petra was allegedly seeking refuge.

“Such places cannot be simply rented by walk-in tenants,” he said, adding that it was obvious that the sponsors had regarded Raja Petra as an asset as he could be used as a tool to disrupt national security.

“Raja Petra will need to have a huge fund to continue living in luxury in London,” said Dr Puad who also congratulated the police for tracking him down.

Two warrants of arrest were issued against Raja Petra after he failed to turn up in court on April 23 and May 23 for his trials over a seditious article on his website www.malaysiatoday.net which defamed the Prime Minister’s wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.

Raja Petra is also accused of defaming Rosmah and two others in a statutory declaration made at the Jalan Duta Court complex on June 18, last year.

The Sessions Court later granted him a discharge not amounting to an acquittal on Nov 11 and 13, as the police had yet to serve the warrant of arrest on him.