By Pei Hu
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – The Malaysian government arrested Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin, Malaysian’s top anti-government blogger, this past Friday. In 2007, the Malaysian government passed the controversial Internal Security Act (ISA) to allow the government to arrest and detain citizens up to a month without explanation. The ISA has been criticized as an encroachment on free speech.

Raja Petra was arrested for allegedly publishing material that ridiculed Islam and government authorities on his widely read website, Malaysia Today. Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin’s arrest came after the government attempted to stop Internet service providers from allowing access to Malaysia Today. This was the first time the Malaysian government ordered the closure of a website.

Tensions broke out between the leader of the opposition party, Anwar Ibrahim and the Malay Muslim ruling party, who accused ethic Chinese for being power hungry. Anwar and the People Justice Party threatened to march the streets and topple the government.

Raja Petra’s arrest has stirred international attention since it was first brought up by Amnesty International. On September 20, Syed Azidi Syed Abudul Aziz “Kickdefella”, another anti-government blogger, was released. Police seized Kickdefella’s computer and arrested him on September 17 for posting “seditious” material on his blogs. He was the second blogger to be arrested after Raja Petra.

The arrests of Raja Petra and Kickdefella have not silenced bloggers. “We condemn these arrests and call for the release of … blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, arrested under the ISA on 12 September,” a blogger nicknamed RPK wrote. The People Justice Party and Anwar publicly announced “such an attack on democracy will only accelerate the further slide of Malaysia’s dipping economic and political ratings.”

For more information, please see:

AP – Malaysia’s Top Anti-Government Blogger Arrested – 12 September 2008

Guardian – Malaysia Blogger’s Arrest Creates Dangerous Precedent – 12 September 2008

Impunity Watch – Malaysian Government Silences Critics with Arrests – 16 September 2008

Reporters without Borders – Blogger Kickdefella Released – 20 September 2008