RPK speaks out and loud in London
“It could also be that people have made up their minds that Najib (Tun Razak) and Rosmah (Mansor) are somehow linked to either the covering-up or the planning of Altantuya’s murder. There is just so much circumstantial evidence linked to them that has not been addressed or dealt with.”
By Chen Yi Ling, Free Malaysia Today
LONDON: Some 400 people packed the lecture theatre at BPP Law School on an uncharacteristically brilliant Saturday, greeting popular blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin with applause and laughter as he delivered a speech on the politics of fear.
What struck me was that old truisms ring true in Malaysian politics. Fear paralyses, but that which does not kill you will only make you stronger. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. And behind every strong man is a strong woman.
Marina Lee Abdullah, wife of Raja Petra, popularly known as RPK, has not only had to hold the fort for him the two times he was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA), she has herself also suffered for showing her opposition to the ruling regime.
During a peaceful candlelight vigil, while RPK was taking photographs, Marina was grabbed and packed off into a police van. For 24 hours, she was treated like a common criminal.
“We were with these mak ciks in the cell, and the other people in the lock-up were wondering what kind of trouble we could have got ourselves into,” she said.
That marked the moment when she no longer watched as a front-row spectator of Malaysian politics, but found herself involved directly.
“I wouldn’t change a thing if I could go back and do it all over again,” she said. This is despite having their home raided umpteen times, her children traumatised by the arrest and detention of their father, and having to leave Malaysia with just two hours to pack.
Earlier this year, her son Raja Azman, who was arrested for alleged theft, swallowed a razor blade and attempted to slit his wrists. Marina could not return for him. It was a huge sacrifice for a mother, she said.
Another strong woman has also stood tall for Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, another victim of a regime that uses draconian laws to silence critics. During his years in prison, his wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail never tired of fighting for his cause, leading a party and a movement that became a force to reckon with.
