Half sentences and distorted meanings
And they want me to face trial on the two charges that have been dropped. No problem. But are these the only two charges? I was told there are at least six additional charges awaiting me, maybe more. So in the end I may be facing ten charges, not two.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
I hate giving interviews, unless it is video recorded. Most times the reporters or journalists who interview me take half of what I say or they report the reverse of what I meant. And I normally shun the government-owned mainstream media because their agenda is not to report the truth but to make those who support the opposition look bad.
Anyway, I broke my own rule a few days ago and spoke to Shannon Teoh of the Malaysian Insider, knowing that they consider me the enemy and would most likely try to spin what I say to run me down.
Read what they wrote here: RPK says will return if no ISA for him. Then compare this with what I actually said below and see if you can spot the subtle spin.
Shannon was persistent in getting me to agree to an interview and I told him that I am really not interested. Anyway, since he gave me that very sad like a lost puppy look, I decided to talk to him. And the following was what I said.
You assume I am being sponsored by someone. You assume that someone must be giving me money. Why must you assume that? Is it because I have been declared a bankrupt? Do you even know how I was declared bankrupt?
It happened in April 2001. I was then on my third day of my Internal Security Act detention and they served a bankruptcy notice on me. In that notice I was given 14 days to contest the bankruptcy. But I was detained for 60 days so there was no way I could contest it.
When I got released I went to Sri Ram & Co. and spoke to Manjeet Singh. I am talking about the late ‘fatty’ Manjeet, who was the President of the Selangor Club. Sri Ram was then already the head of the Appeal Court.
Sri Ram & Co. tried to file an appeal, although the 14 days had expired, and were told that my file was missing. The Official Assignee had received a letter from the court about my bankruptcy but my file no longer existed. The court had somehow lost my file.
I was alleged to have guaranteed someone’s debt. And the person I was supposed to have guaranteed is a millionaire called Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin, the man who accused Anwar Ibrahim of trying to seduce his wife. This was the same man.
Datuk Hamzah is very rich. When he divorced his wife she sued him for part of his property and the Shariah court awarded her RM10 million. That is how rich he is. The wife, in fact, said that that is only part of his property and that he owns much more.
If he is so rich then why sue me and get me declared bankrupt? Why not sue Datuk Hamzah and recover the debt from him? After all, it is he and not me who owes the money. By suing me they get nothing. They could have recovered the more than RM1 million he is alleged to owe if they had sued him instead.
Anyway, I couldn’t be bothered. So what if I am a bankrupt? It does not change my life. Maybe I can’t become a director of a company; but that is about it. There are many bankrupts in Malaysia. Some even drive around in chauffer-driven limousines and have property in their wife or children’s names. So it is no big deal.
And is that why you think someone must be sponsoring me or giving me money? You assume I am bangsat or pokai. But you know nothing about me. You don’t even know that 30 years ago back in the 1980s I was a director or a few public companies and owned millions of shares. You just assume that since I am a Blogger then I must be broke.
How do you know how much property I own? How do you know that I don’t have property all over the world? You just assume I have no money to my name and that someone must be giving me money. Why do you assume that?
And you call me a fugitive Blogger. Why do you say I am a fugitive? Have I been convicted of any crime? Am I facing any charges? The two charges against me have been dropped. I have been discharged not amounting to an acquittal. There are no warrants of arrest against me. So in what way am I a fugitive?
They want me to come back to Malaysia. No problem. I can return. But first guarantee me that they will not detain me without trial under the Internal Security Act.
And they want me to face trial on the two charges that have been dropped. No problem. But are these the only two charges? I was told there are at least six additional charges awaiting me, maybe more. So in the end I may be facing ten charges, not two.
Anyway, I have already been detained under the ISA for the same crimes as the charges I am facing. Since I have already been punished they can’t punish me again. That is double jeopardy.
I am not worried about the two charges. I can beat those charges easily. In fact, we were winning the case. And with the detention under ISA I was subjected to that makes those charges defective as no one can be punished twice for the same crime.
I am more concerned with the new ISA detention order they have issued and the six new charges they are going to whack me with. Assure me that there are no other charges or detention without trial awaiting me. Then I will return.
Are they able to do that? I doubt it.
So that, basically, was what I said. But that was not quite how the so-called interview came out. I thought you should know what I actually said compared to what they wrote.
Well, probably I am not the only one who writes 40% truth and 60% lies.
