Police take Raja Petra’s statement

(NST) – JAKARTA: MALAYSIAN police have taken a statement from Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Kamarudin regarding an online article he wrote which implicated an opposition leader to the Lahad Datu intrusion.

The 63-year-old, who is now based in Manchester, United Kingdom, was questioned by at least two CID personnel from Bukit Aman police headquarters for about three hours at the Malaysian embassy here on Thursday.

He had flown in from Britain the previous day after agreeing to give his statement over the article entitled The Untold Story of the Lahad Datu Incident which based on the news portal, was uploaded on March 25.

He said he agreed to have his statement taken here due to legal and logistical reasons, after having consulted his lawyer and the police.

When met outside the embassy, Raja Petra said he was not at liberty to divulge the details of his police statement, except for the fact that it was about the article that he wrote. Asked to elaborate on his article, which spoke of two meetings between opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Moro National Liberation Front founder Nur Misuari since July 16 and Aug 4 last year, Raja Petra said he stood by his story.

He said the meetings and subsequent meetings by at least two other opposition leaders had something to do with bringing in a group of Philippine Sulus into Sabah for the purposes that was related to the elections.

“According to the information that I received from my sources is the meeting that took place was specifically to discuss for them (Sulus) coming in. And what was also discussed was the purpose of them coming in and it was in relation to the elections. I feel that there is more to this story.”

Raja Petra claimed two other leaders from PKR vice-presidents and former members of parliament Tian Chua and R. Sivarasa — also had been having meetings with people associated with the MNLF following the two first meetings involving Anwar. Observers believed that the MNLF contributed most to the forces of the so-called sultan Jamalul Kiram, who landed in Lahad Datu and Semporna, Sabah, almost three months ago.

Raja Petra’s claim’s echoes a recent statement on April 25 by Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who said the ministry had identified three opposition leaders — two from the peninsula and another from Sabah — as culprits behind the armed intrusion by Sulu terrorists in Lahad Datu, Sabah.

The subsequent attacks in eastern Sabah led to the death of 10 Malaysian security personnel.

Raja Petra said there was a politically-motivated mastermind behind the Lahad Datu intrusion, and this was meant to stir sentiments of the Sulu community in Sabah.

“The question is whether the Lahad Datu incursion was an isolated incident?

“I feel there is more to this story. It can only mean that they (mastermind of incursion) want to disrupt the elections or at least fan the sentiments. If not, why bother to do this?” He said Tian Chua and Sivarasa had never denied meeting with Misuari’s people, but only denied the purpose of those subsequent meetings.

“I will not deny that I wrote the article. My name is on the article.

“I named names in my article, I mentioned Anwar met Misuari (Moro National Liberation Front leader, Nur Misuari) on July 16 (2012), and then on Aug 5.

“I even mentioned the flight number and I mentioned the hotel. I mean, very specific. You cannot create a story that’s very specific because flight number you can check,” he said.