Speed up probe on Raja Petra, suggests Puad

 

(The Star) – The on-going police investigation on Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Kamarudin must be hastened as it involves public interest, says Umno supreme council member Datuk Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi.

“It’s been too long already and it’s getting quiet. We need to know the progress.”

“There were news reports about him being here and there, living life luxuriously. So what is the status now?” he asked.

He said the public wanted Raja Petra’s “sponsors” to be exposed, too.

Dr Mohd Puad, who is the Deputy Education Minister, said Raja Petra’s return to Malaysia was also important to assist police in investigating the “Allah” issue.

“Personally, I am worried that the people behind Raja Petra, the ones who are sponsoring his escape and current lifestyle, are the same people behind bloggers who are exploiting the ‘Allah’ issue in their writings,” he added.

Raja Petra is facing two arrest warrants after failing to appear in court on April 23 and May 23 last year for his sedition trial where he allegedly defamed the Prime Minister’s wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor in an article on his website.

He 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 he could not be located.

Raja Petra, who was earlier reported to be in London, is now believed to be hiding in Poland based on a recent posting on his news portal.