Rock star blogger a thorn to Malaysia's rulers

For ordinary Malaysians, Raja Petra Kamaruddin is something of a rock star. As publisher and editor of website Malaysia Today, the self-confessed hippie has delighted fans by turning up the heat on the nation's troubled politicians who rebuke him or feign indifference whenever his name is mentioned. 'They call me a cyber-terrorist,' he said with a smile. Politicians also try to dismiss him as a blogger, a term in Malaysia that has its own nuances as leaders attempt to relegate critics to a kind of second-class citizenry as they communicate through the internet instead of the mainstream media. Former information minister Zainuddin Maidin referred to him and other bloggers as off-key karaoke singers who like the sound of their own voices but lack real public influence. Azril Amin, vice-president of the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia once wrote that Raja Petra had breached his responsibilities by defaming Islamic organisations, that he had a confused understanding of Islam and was appalled by his 'vulgar-languaged polemic'. Such brinkmanship might hold some credibility if Malaysia Today was a flop. Instead, the website is a target for hackers - many suspect supporters of the ruling National Front coalition - after the site scored five million hits within two days in July last year as police summoned Raja Petra in response to defamation charges. Before his arrest yesterday under the Internal Security Act, probably on four charges of sedition, he also faced three charges of criminal defamation for implying that Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak was linked to the bloody 2006 killing of a Mongolian model, Altantuya Shaariibuu, a crime that has captivated the nation. Mr Najib has denied the allegations and has sworn in a mosque that he never met nor had anything to do with her. Raja Petra is also being investigated after casting doubt over the validity of a second sodomy charge being brought against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. 'They're charging me with everything except spitting on the street,' he said. At the heart of Malaysia Today is what he cherishes most: honesty, transparency and accountability. But the recipe for success is less noble: an old-fashioned mix of corruption, sex and murder - whipped up by scandal-prone politicians who have felt the wrath of voters and risk being thrown out of government by Mr Anwar, also Raja Petra's politician of choice. 'I think he will be the next prime minister,' he says. Raja Petra first met Mr Anwar as a teenager. Born in England to Selangor state royalty through his father's line and a Welsh mother, he was educated at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar - sometimes called the 'Eton of the East' - where Mr Anwar was three years his senior, an unloved prefect. 'I never shared his political sentiments, he represented everything I was against,' he said of Mr Anwar, whose political career dates to his school days. 'There was certainly no love for him then.' 'I became a biker, so did my wife. I was 17 and she was young and we became part of the Malay chapter of Hell's Angels. We were anti-establishment, anti-Vietnam war, I wanted marijuana legalised, I was a hippy and into Woodstock. 'We grew our hair long when everyone else wore theirs short. When people grew their hair long we shaved - maybe we just never grew out of that, going against the system.' Those sentiments changed only slightly over the next three decades as five children arrived. The channel was changed every time Mr Anwar popped up on the television. But in 1998 Mr Anwar was sacked by then prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, and jailed for six years on corruption and sodomy charges. The sodomy charge was later dropped. 'When he was first sacked my initial reaction was 'serves you bloody right', Raja Petra said. 'Then he was beaten and a lot of people sympathised with him overnight. This is just wrong - a government cannot do that. 'He was sacked for political reasons, nothing else, and now, no one believes in this second sodomy charge.' And perhaps there is a touch of the Etonian in Raja Petra. He said it was all about respect for authority, position and age, a healthy respect that he reserves even for the likes of Dr Mahathir, whom he partially blames for eroding the importance of their alma mater. 'When Mahathir came to power he held cabinet meetings on Wednesdays, the same day as old boys would wear their school ties. Half the cabinet turned up with the same tie on and Mahathir asked why so many people were wearing the same tie. The habit abruptly stopped,' he said. 'However, Mahathir still gets my respect. I kiss his hand when we meet and people ask me why? It's a Malay respect. He is an older man and that is the way we respect our elders. We may not agree with you but you are an ex-prime minister and in your 80s,' he said. 'The same goes for Anwar. You can't beat up a former deputy PM, beat him and nearly kill him.' It was at this point the former motorcycle dealer and rice distributor got involved. He helped establish a new party, which over a decade has evolved into the multiracial Keadilan party, - Mr Anwar's main political vehicle in his attempt to oust the government - and established Malaysia Today. He said his proudest moments were particularly the stories that linked senior police with underworld figures, the government's involvement with United Nations oil-for-food scandal in Iraq and the lurid tales of Malaysian leaders and their extramarital affairs. The accuracy of his reports has left many wondering who his sources are, especially when he detailed an alleged meeting between Mr Najib and Saiful Bukhari Azlan. The latter made the second sodomy charge against Mr Anwar shortly after the opposition leader said he would secure enough defections to form a new government after the National Front's poor showing in the March elections. Raja Petra also uncovered another alleged meeting in room 619 of the Concorde Hotel in Kuala Lumpur between Mr Saiful and police officer Mohammad Rodwan Yousef one day before the sodomy allegedly took place. Mr Rodwan was involved with the earlier charges of sodomy against Mr Anwar. Raja Petra was quick to point out that no one had refuted any of the claims made in Malaysia Today. 'They won't deny it,' he said. Charges of making a false statement, which would require proof, were brought against him and later dropped. Instead he was charged with sedition and criminal defamation, where truth is not a defence. 'And I'm told I'm the first ever charged under this law (criminal defamation).' Raja Petra, left despondent by the tactics, sighs and lights his pipe. And who are his sources? That is one subject he will not discuss.