Gobind Singh Deo (DAP-Puchong) suspended after accusing Dewan Rakyat Speaker of biasness

Deputy Speaker Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar had ruled that Nazri had no intention to mislead the House when giving his reply on ex-gratia payments to the former Lord President and Supreme Court judges during the judiciary crisis in 1988.
“The minister did not know that the statement he gave was inaccurate and had no intention to mislead the House. Therefore it is not necessary for the minister to be referred to the committee of privileges,” said Dr Wan Junaidi at 11.30am. Wan Junaidi was ruling on Karpal's claim that Nazri had misled the House two week ago when replying to points raised on the Judicial sackings of 1988.
This then saw an exchange of words between Karpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Gelugor) and Wan Junaidi which saw several opposition members taking part.The exchange lasted a good 30 minutes . Salahuddin Ayub (PAS -Kubang Kerian) said Nazri should apologise in the House for not knowing his facts which had affected the integrity of the House. Dr Wan Junaidi told Salahuddin: “I do not need to ask the minister to apologise. My decision is based on the Standing Order. I do not want the Parliament to be a mockery.”
It was at this juncture that Karpal Singh told the Deputy Speaker that his decision was indeed a mockery of the House. Karpal Singh, amidst shouts of “tarik balik” from backbenchers, told Dr Wan Junaidi “jangan main-main (don’t play the fool) and the minister should apologise.
Gobind Singh Deo (DAP - Puchong), who stood up to support his father, ended up being suspended after he accused the Deputy Speaker of being biased."He (Nazri) makes the mistake and you are punishing me," he told Wan Junaidi after the deputy speaker and Gobind got into an argument over the merits of his decision not to refer Nazri to the rights and privileges committee.At the Parliament lobby later, Gobind Singh said: “If Nazri is prepared to apologise outside the Dewan, why can’t he do so inside the House?”
In the lobby, Nazri said there was no reason for him to apologise.“The Deputy Speaker has cleared me that I had not deliberately made that statement. Since there is no case to refer me to the Rights and Privileges Committee, there is no reason for me to defend myself,” he said.
“The issue from the beginning was never over an apology but about making the wrong statement, which I had admitted and cleared,” he said when asked why he initially apologised. ”The issue of apology does not arise. This was created by Karpal Singh,” he said.

Nazri had told the House on Nov 6 that former Lord President Tun Salleh Abbas and five other Supreme Court judges were not sacked but opted to retire early. A few days later, Nazri told reporters that he had made a mistake and that three of them were indeed sacked but had been paid pension on compassionate grounds.
This prompted Karpal Singh (DAP - Gelugor) to ask for a ruling to refer Nazri to the Committee of Privileges under Standing Order 36(12) for misleading the House.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/11/26/parliament/2642087&sec=parliament

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Tuesday/Frontpage/20081125134657/Article/index_html

Gobind Singh Deo spoke to the reporters in the lobby. This is a transcript of what he said:

"How does the speaker know without an explanation in the House by the Minister . How does the Speaker know what his defence is. And not only that, kita lihat Tuan Speaker menyatakan bahawa Menteri telahpun minta maaf tetapi di luar Dewan. Saya hanya bangkit untuk tanya. If he is prepared to apologise outside kenapa tak berani nak minta maaf dalam Dewan ? We are all honourable members of the House. Tapi as usual when the opposition asks questions we get thrown out. Doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter. Tidak mengapa pada saya. Does not matter. But this is what happens in politics in Malaysia. In fact I am disappointed. Disappointed with the ruling made by the Speaker. But never mind two days I think what is more important is principles.We stand up for our principles. If we have toget suspended for it then so be it. Kita ini perlu berdiri mempertahankan prinsip kami sebagai wakil rakyat, wakil Dewan Rakyat. Kalau kita perlu di gantung untuk menjalankan tugas , saya sedia menerima. Tak ada masalah. Tak ada masalah."

The said statement was not aired on the national television stations. But Gobind does raise some pertinent points. While the Chair of the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat merits respect, the speaker should bear in mind that the MP's are merely discharging their duties in accordance with their oath of office. An order of suspension is not one which should be invoked often since it amounts to a denial of the voice of the constituency which forms the very bedrock of democracy.

Man charged with committing unnatural sex with beautician without her consent

A Kuala Lumpur City Hall general worker pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here today to committing carnal intercourse against the order of nature on a beautician without her consent.
Kamarul Zaman Abdul Rashid, 44, who wore green Baju Melayu was charged under Section 377CA of the Penal Code which is punishable with up to 20 years in jail and whipping if convicted.He was alleged to have inserted prayer beads and finger into the woman’s vagina at a house No.6, Block G (E Tambahan), Kampung Melayu Sri Kundang, Kuang, Rawang, at 11.30am, Nov 15.

Kamarul Zaman was arrested on Nov 19 while the woman was 33 years old.In applying for bail, defence lawyer Simon Sabapathy said Kamarul Zaman was married and had to provide for his five children aged between three and 19 years as well as his parents.Assistant Public Prosecutor Salwa Asmary Abdul Rahim objected to the application and said that if Kamarul Zaman was allowed bail, the amount should high and additional conditions should be imposed.The reason she gave was that such a case occurred frequently and could make the people worried.Judge Wan Mohd Norisham Wan Yaakob later fixed the bail at RM6,000 with one surety and ordered the accused to surrender his passport to the court and to report to a nearby police station every month.He also warned Kamarul Zaman not to harass the victim and set March 10 next year for trial.

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Tuesday/NewsBreak/20081125160403/Article/index_html

Section 377CA of The Penal Code provides for Sexual connection by object.Under this provision, "Any person who has sexual connection with another person by the introduction of any object into the vagina or anus of the other person without the other person's consent shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to twenty years and shall also be liable to whipping. [Exception: This section does not extend to where the introduction of any object into the vagina or anus of any person is carried out for medical or law enforcement purposes.]

The essence of the section is the introduction of any object into the vagina or anus of another. Thus prayer beads would suffice. However it was thought that this section would not cover the insertion of a human part such as a finger. But this would be interpreting the word " object" in a strict sense. From the case it would appear that " object" would cover a human part such as a finger.However this would be a matter for determination by the court. This section would apparently cover the insertion of a dildo . But Section 377CA The Penal Code depends on the consent of the other party. If the other party consents to such introduction , then no offence would be committed under this section. Interestingly the section would not apply despite the lack of consent where the introduction of any object into the vagina or anus of any person is carried out for medical or law enforcement purposes. Thus a doctor who inserts an object into the anus or vagina of a patient would not commit any offence under this section. Similarly law enforcement officers also could insert objects into the anus or vagina. But this exception should be qualified in the sense that the said insertion is for a purpose incidental to the work of these two professions.

Youth sentenced to 24 years in prison for incest with his sister

PUTRAJAYA: A youth who committed incest with his sister after watching pornographic videos will spend the prime years of his life in jail.
The Court of Appeal yesterday dismissed his appeal against the sentence of a High Court which enhanced the jail term to 24 years.The youth, who is now 22, will also receive three strokes of the rotan.Court of Appeal judge Datuk James Foong, who sat with Datuk Zainun Ali and Datuk Sulong Matjeraie, said they felt the jail term was appropriate as the offences were serious."We are aware that you are young but we will be sending a wrong message that those who commit a similar offence will be jailed only for a few years if the imprisonment term is varied," Foong said of the unanimous decision.
The jail term is to commence from Sept 11, 2004. He advised the youth to be serious in his religious lessons in order to distinguish right from wrong.Having come to the appellate court, the youth has finally exhausted his appeal. With one-third remission, the youth is expected to walk out of prison in 2020 at the age of 34.On Oct 23, 2004, the Sessions Court sentenced him to eight years' jail each after he pleaded guilty to three counts of incest between January 2002 and July 2004.However, he served eight years because the court ordered the sentences to run concurrently.On the third count, the court also ordered him to be given three strokes of the rotan as the youth was aged above 18 when he committed the offence.The incidents occurred at an unnumbered house in Kampar, Perak, when the girl was aged between 6 and 8 and the accused was aged between 16 and 18. On appeal against sentence by the public prosecutor, the High Court, on May 27, 2005, maintained the eight-year jail term for each count but ordered them to run consecutively, which meant a total of 24 years.The three strokes of the rotan were maintained.

Before the High Court, the youth, in mitigation, told the judge that he was spurred to commit the act on his sister after watching pornographic videos. The youth, who was unrepresented, then appealed to the Court of Appeal against the sentence.Deputy public prosecutor V. Shoba submitted that the appeal should be disallowed because the offences committed were separate.Facts of the case revealed a police report was made only after a welfare officer discovered that the victim had been sexually abused.Their mother had passed away when the incidents took place. The youth had dropped out of school after Form Four and worked in a factory in Gopeng.
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Wednesday/National/2412016/Article/index_html

Irene Fernandez acquittal a victory for freedom of expression in Malaysia

It is indeed heartening to note the release of Irene Fernandez. She was arrested in 1996 for reporting that illegal immigrants were tortured at detention centres. Fernandez's 1995 report was compiled from interviews with more than 300 former detainees and alleged that illegal immigrants died in Malaysian camps from malnutrition and torture. The government confirmed 98 detainees had died, but said they succumbed to diseases contracted in their homelands. Did we really expect the government to say otherwise? That illegal immigrants suffer all forms of abuse especially in light of the absence and enforcement of the law is a fact. One has only to glean the pages of the local newspapers. The action by the government reflects the heavy handedness in which dissenting voices are subjected to action in Malaysia especially if it is one which places the government of the day in a bad light.Credit must be given to Irene Fernandez for having the courage to face up to the authorities and not compromising her principles. We must never allow the authotities to stifle our right to express our views.

Irene Fernandez acquitted 12 years after arrest

A Malaysian court on Monday acquitted a prominent labor activist who was arrested 12 years ago for claiming that police tortured illegal immigrants in detention.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled in favor of Irene Fernandez, the director of the human rights group Tenaganita, who had appealed a one-year prison sentence issued in 2003 for maliciously publishing false news. Justice Datuk Mohamed Apandi Ali acquitted Fernandez after the prosecution informed the court that it was not opposing her appeal against conviction and sentence on the grounds that the appeal record was incomprehensible.
"I'm so happy that finally truth and justice prevailed," Fernandez, 62, told The Associated Press. "I should never have been charged in the first place."
She was arrested in 1996 for reporting that illegal immigrants were tortured at detention centers but remained free on bail while fighting her case. Seven years later, she was sentenced to one year in prison but appealed.
Prosecutor Shamsul Sulaiman said the prosecution decided not to oppose the appeal because typed records from earlier court proceedings contained "systemic errors." The errors occurred when a court official typed up the judge's handwritten notes, Shamsul said. He told the AP he would have been "quite confident of fighting the appeal" had the records been in order.
Fernandez, 62, had been sentenced to 12 months jail by the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate's Court on Oct 16, 2003, for publishing a memorandum containing false news at the Tenaganita Sdn Bhd office at No. 28c, Lorong Bunus Enam, off Jalan Masjid India, on Aug 25, 1995. She was alleged to have exposed the poor conditions at immigration detention centres in a memorandum entitled, "Abuse, Torture and Dehumanised Conditions of Migrant Workers in Detention Centres" which allegedly contained 16 statements that were found to be false. Fernandez's 1995 report was compiled from interviews with more than 300 former detainees.The report alleged that illegal immigrants died in Malaysian camps from malnutrition and torture. The government confirmed 98 detainees had died, but said they succumbed to diseases contracted in their homelands.
Over the weekend, New York-based Human Rights Watch had called for the "politically motivated" charges against Fernandez to be dropped. "Irene Fernandez and her organization documented the government's sadistic and humiliating treatment of migrants," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Human Rights Watch has also documented such treatment."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jF97_ahzzHW3hKJZyK64lYMoIgNwD94L71200

Weird Sex Laws

Sexual conduct seems a taboo topic. Therefore laws on it are deemed to infringe basic notions of privacy. Almost everyone would want whatever laws which touch on sexual matters to stop outside their bedroom doors . Nonetheless there is still an abundance of such laws even in countries such as the United States. Check out some of these laws extracted from http://www.journalism.sfsu.edu/flux/gSpot/sexLaw.html-

• Places where oral sex is illegal: Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia and Washington D.C.
• An erection that shows through a man's clothing is illegal in: Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington D.C. and Wisconsin
• In Georgia those charged and convicted for either oral or anal sex can be sentenced to no less than one year and no more than 20 years imprisonment.
• In Missouri sexually deviant behavior between people of the same sex is classified as a class A misdemeanor
• In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania it is against the law to have sex with a truck driver in a tollbooth. (There's every woman's fantasy gone down the drain).
• In Nevada it is illegal to have sex without a condom.
• In Willowdale, Oregon it is against the law for a husband to talk dirty in his wife's ear during sex.
• In Clinton, Oklahoma it is illegal to masturbate while watching two people have sex in a car.
• In Washington State there is a law against having sex with a virgin under any circumstances (including the wedding night!).
• In Newcastle, Wyoming it is illegal to have sex in a butcher shop's meat freezer.
• In Washington D.C. there is a law against having sex in any position other than face to face.

The laws may not be used often but they are far from obsolete.The November 1996 issue of "Marie Claire" involved an Atlanta wife who tried to have her soon-to-be ex-husband charged with rape. She had persuaded her then hubby to tie her up and later used the bondage as a means of proving that the sex had not been consensual. Her sister came forward and informed the court of the plot against the man, but there was another twist in the story.
Although the man was acquitted on the rape charge, the man was sentenced to five years in jail for having performed oral sex on the woman. He had admitted to that during the course of the case and so he was charged and sentenced under Georgia law.

Even animal are not exempted-

• In Kingsville, Texas there is a law against two pigs having sex on Kingsville airport property.
• In Fairbanks, Alaska it is illegal for mooses to have sex on the city sidewalks.
• Lastly, even liberated California proves to be not quite so liberal for the animals...In Ventura County cats and dogs may not have sex without a permit.

Well , human sexual laws aside, Malaysia would be pretty liberal as far as animal sexual conduct is concerned. There should be no problem for pigs to have sex but first they will have to get a place. Now if only those folks in Selangor and Kedah could be more sympathetic.

Examining homosexual laws in Malaysia

Section 377 of the Penal Code criminalises gay sex.It also deals amongst other things with anus and oral sex. For purposes of clarity the author will confine the discussion to its relationship with homosexuality. It comes under Unnatural Offences 377. Under section 377A which relates to carnal intercourse against the order of nature it is provided that any person who has sexual connection with another person by the introduction of the penis into the anus or mouth of the other person is said to commit carnal intercourse against the order of nature. The explanation states that penetration is sufficient to constitute the sexual connection necessary to the offence described in this section. The unnatural sex would also refer to oral and anal sex. As to why it is deemed "unnatural, a post in http://www.malaysiabrides.com/ referred to provisions of the Old Testament of the Bible, where oral and anal sex was considered to be "against" the order of nature because of the "waste" of sperm and the sex act itself. Traditional sex was deemed to be the typical vagina meets penis. Foreplay wasn't even discussed - of course kissing was allowed but anything else was considered to be debauch behaviour. The punishment for committing carnal intercourse against the order of nature under section 377B provides for imprisonment for a term which may extend to twenty years, and shall also be liable to whipping. The learned view of Mallal's Penal Law (at page 643) states that penetration alone will suffice for an offence and it need not be a fully completed act.The degree of penetration necessary to constitute an offence would be a matter of fact to be determined by the courts. Since the section is dependable on the introduction of the penis into the anus or mouth of the other person, therefore the word "any person" would only make a male liable since only a male can make the said penetration. The male or female partner whose anus or mouth is penetrated by the offender, will not be liable under this section, even though they consented to the act [see Mallal's Penal Law at page 643].

The laws are a relic of the British colonial era. The sodomy laws were introduced in the late 1870s by British administrators, about 20 years after the first such law was drafted by Lord Thomas Macaulay for the Indian Penal Code.Similar sodomy laws were adopted by other colonies, such as Australia, Bangladesh , Canada, Hong Kong, the Straits Settlements , Pakistan and Sri Lanka.Australia, Canada, Fiji and Hong Kong, have all repealed the laws. The UK legalised sexual acts between two adult males in 1967. Indian activists are currently challenging Section 377 in court. So that these laws would be more of a British thing albeit from a far more conservative era. Interestingly homosexual acts remain punishable by death in several countries, including Mauritania, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Sudan.Even some countries which have such sodomy laws are still reluctant to discard them.Malaysia's neighbour Singapore repealed Section 377 in 2007. But retained Section 377A, which specifies a 2-year jail term, as its Prime Minister concluded Singapore was still a conservative country uncomfortable with homosexuality.One needs to be careful when comparing the Malaysian Penal Code with that of Singapore. Malaysia's Penal Code is numbered differently from Singapore's. And its provisions differ too.

As for Malaysia do not expect the repeal of these laws any time soon . If these laws are repealed then it would pose a major headache for the ruling coalition . It would prevent them from throwing sodomy charges agaist politicians deemed to be a threat.So apparently there is some use of these laws although for the wrong reasons and against the wrong persons.

Post was written by the author of this blog with some provisions extracted from http://www.malaysiabrides.com

Police storm Gay Party

An entertainment centre and two massage parlours hosted separate parties with a difference on the 3rd of November.
Apparently, the humble bathroom towel was the "theme" of the three parties meant exclusively for men. As it turned out, most of the 73 men who came to have fun with one another, wore just a towel and nothing else.The guests, including a foreigner, were allegedly participating in a party meant exclusively for homosexuals.Thus, the police were far from amused when they raided the entertainment centre in Jalan Perai Jaya, and the massage parlours in Pulau Tikus, only to find the men frolicking with their male partners, clad merely in towels.
They also found new and used condoms scattered on the floor as they rounded up 73 men, suspected to be homosexuals, in the three separate raids between 5pm and 8.30pm.A police spokesman said that the men were aged between 20 and 50. He said police were tracking down the owner of the entertainment centre who was suspected to have held regular "gay parties" at the premises.

Homosexuality is unlawful in Malaysia. however the siad raid did make headline news around the world on the front pages of Gay newspapers.

Raja Nazrin on role of rulers and justice

KUCHING: The rulers should not agree with advice given by government leaders that goes against the spirit of the Constitution, rule of law and universal principles of justice.
"Generally, the rulers act based on the advice of government leaders who are elected by the people," said Raja Muda of Perak Raja Dr Nazrin Shah on Thursday."Nevertheless, the rulers cannot accede to acts which do not symbolise justice or sanction moves which do not mirror truth."The rulers' views, observation and counsel in the administrative affairs of the country touching on the question of integrity, which encompasses justice, law, judiciary, misappropriation, power abuse, corruption and wealth distribution, are with the desire to strengthen the government so that it is stable and receives people's trust," he said in conjunction with the National Integrity Day here.To ensure the rulers' integrity is not questioned and the throne remains respected, Raja Nazrin said the rulers should act wisely, master knowledge, understand the surroundings and changes and possess a group of advisers comprising experts and people knowledgeable in the relevant fields.
"This will enable the rulers to fulfil their roles with integrity and make smart, accurate, just and fair decisions."Present were Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud and Chief Justice Tan Sri Zaki Azmi

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Saturday/Frontpage/2396447/Article/index_html

Chief Justice Zaki reveals two judges suspected to be corrupt

KUCHING: Two retired judges were suspected to be corrupt, Chief Justice Tan Sri Zaki Azmi said yesterday.
"God helped me because when I came (into the judiciary), they were gone. No, I didn't dismiss them, they retired," he said at a convention on "Integrity, the Catalyst for Sustainable Development" here.He said he knew the two judges personally.On the judges still serving the judiciary, he said there were "one or two" who were not doing their work."We are going to take the necessary action against them because as I have said, 'You leave and don't stay'."
Zaki said those who are hardworking will be rewarded. He also wanted the judges to write shorter and simpler judgments to reduce the backlog of cases."One judge at the Commercial Court Division wrote 500 judgments within two years. How was it that this judge could, but the others could not?" Zaki spoke at length on corruption and how to improve integrity and efficiency.He said the judiciary was an extremely important branch of the government because the public looked at it as the final bastion. "If they fail in the executive, the ministries and Parliament, they will come to the court."The court must be there to defend the individuals, but if the court itself is corrupt, or inefficient, how could the people rely on the court?" Zaki said the way to beat corruption was to have a good, efficient and fast delivery system. Citing the issuance of passports as an example, he said the weeks it took to process applications made it tempting for those in a hurry to offer bribes. Now it takes only two hours or "one fine morning" for a person to get his passport."There is no need for any corruption to take place. There is no money to be made by a person issuing the passport. So, efficiency is the answer."

On how he improved efficiency in the court administration, Zaki said after he was appointed president of the Court of Appeal last year, the first thing he did was visit the registry."The registry was in a mess with 13 clerks looking after 13 piles of records of appeals. "If you want a record of appeal, it takes time because you have to go to the clerk and the clerk has to go through the bundles of documents. "With the total support of the Court of Appeal staff, they managed to reorganise the records of appeals. So now, the records of appeals at the Court of Appeals are retrievable within two or three minutes, not two or three hours or two or three days."With that, any correspondences received by the Court of Appeal are immediately attended to and should be replied within 24 hours of receiving them because the files are retrieved immediately." He said the move stopped corruption because there was no longer a need to bribe the clerk to look for the file.

Zaki had also introduced a simpler procedure by getting the lawyers to fill a form when requesting for files, instead of writing lengthy letters.When the forms reached him, Zaki said it would only take him two minutes to read them and reach a decision on the request. Zaki said he was proud of his staff for this success at the Court of Appeal. The chief justice said to ensure efficiency, immediate punishment must be meted out against errant staff. "(Once) when I was in court, presiding over a case, I turned my back and no one was there, and they (court orderlies) were chatting outside the room. "The first thing I did afterwards was to call the registrar to issue a show-cause letter to them," he said."The show-cause letter had the desired effects because two days later, all the orderlies of the Court of Appeal behaved themselves."
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Saturday/Frontpage/2396402/Article/index_html

Court frees Malaysian blogger Raja Petra from detention under Internal Security Act

It was described as a landmark decision . The High Court in Shah Alam yesterday ordered the immediate release of Raja Petra Kamarudin from his two-year detention under the Internal Security Act.
This followed the decision of judge Datuk Syed Ahmad Helmy Syed Ahmad to allow the Malaysia Today editor's habeas corpus application, which was filed on Sept 31.Syed Ahmad held that the home minister had issued the order outside the scope of Section 8(1) of the Internal Security Act 1960.He also allowed the application by Raja Petra's counsel, Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, to order that he (Raja Petra) be brought from the Kamunting detention centre to the Shah Alam court before 4pm for his release.Syed Ahmad said he found there was no merit for the applicant's counsel to state that Section 8 was unconstitutional, as it fell within the ambit of Article 149 of the Federal Constitution.
(Article 149 allows action to be taken against anyone who threatens national security even if it violates his fundamental liberties.) "But in issuing the order, the minister can only do so based on grounds provided under the ambit of the act. The minister cannot simply detain someone. He must be confined to the circumstances stated." He said based on the grounds given by the minister for the detention, "I found that it did not fall within the scope of Section 8 (1) of the ISA."On the grounds that the order was made in bad faith, he said that this was not a matter for review by the court as "mala fide is not procedural and non-compliant." Raja Petra was arrested on Sept 12 as he was deemed a threat to national security and the order to detain him under the ISA was issued on Sept 22.

He was detained on the grounds that he:- owns and operates the Malaysia Today website;- intentionally and recklessly published his articles as well as readers' comments on Malaysia Today that were critical of and insulted Muslims, the purity of Islam and the personality of Prophet Muhammad; and,- that he published his articles concerning national leaders that were defamatory and false with the intention of undermining confidence and inciting public hatred against the government, which could affect public order and prejudice national security.

In filing the habeas corpus application, Raja Petra named the home minister as the respondent.Senior federal counsel Abdul Wahab Mohamad and Dusuki Mokhtar appeared on behalf of the minister. Malik Imtiaz was assisted by Azhar Azizan Harun, Ashok Kandiah, J. Chandra, Sreekant Pillai and H.K. Neoh.After Syed Ahmad delivered his decision, Raja Petra's supporters clapped with joy, only to be ticked off by the judge who reminded them that they were in a court of law.Raja Petra's wife, Marina Lee Abdullah, and their two daughters, Suraya and Sarah, were in tears.Later, Marina said: "No words can describe how I am feeling right now. I am just glad everything went the way I hoped. This is fantastic." Raja Petra arrived at the court in a white van, escorted by five warders, at 3.15pm to a hero's welcome.

When he got out of the van, the blogger, clad in a brown T-shirt and jeans and looking tired, gave the thumbs-up sign as some 100 supporters chanted "RPK! RPK!" He hugged and kissed his wife.He was then led into the courtroom and Syed Ahmad ordered his release at 3.20pm. After the court stood down, a supporter placed a garland on him."I am quite surprised that I am released."Not many people who challenged the ISA detention succeeded. So I didn't give it too much hope."He added that the fight to abolish the ISA must continue. Raja Petra had to jostle his way past some 50 photographers to get into a maroon-coloured Rolls Royce with Marina, before leaving the court compound at 3.35pm.

The Home Ministry in responding to the release stated that it will not dispute the decision of the court to release blogger Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin from detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA), said its minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar. “That is the decision of the court. So, if he is released, it’s the right of the court,” he said after launching the Kajang Prison Mosque, Hulu Langat, here today.