‘Zaid not legally bound to explain RPK meeting’
(The Star) – PKR central working committee member Datuk Zaid Ibrahim is neither legally nor politically bound to explain his connection with fugitive blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, said Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.
However, he added, Zaid has a “moral obligation” to explain his connection with Raja Petra.
The blogger disappeared after two warrants of arrest were issued on him, following his failure to be present at court proceedings on April 23 and May 23 last year for allegedly posting seditious and slanderous articles on Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor on the Malaysia Today website.
Zaid had reportedly met Raja Petra in London recently, prompting Bayan Baru MP Datuk Seri Zahrain Mohamed Hashim to ask the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to probe if there was a link between the two.
However, Zaid questioned why his meeting with Raja Petra was being turned into an issue.
He wrote in his blog on Thursday that meeting the blogger was not an offence, saying Raja Petra and his wife Marina were his friends.
Speaking at a press conference after opening the Hulu Terengganu Umno division meeting yesterday, Hishammuddin also questioned who was backing and funding Raja Petra abroad while Malaysian authorities were relentlessly tracking the fugitive blogger.
He said the Government was still clueless as to how Raja Petra was able to sneak out the country with his international passport compounded, while there was no Immigration record of him exiting the country.
