RPK speaks out and loud in London

By Chen Yi Ling

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.
'Takut kena ISA'
Meanwhile, in his talk, RPK did a short one-man play of a conversation with a Malaysian robot paralysed by the fear of the ISA.
“Do you support the government?” “No.”
“What do you think of the government now?” “Terrible.” (Laughter from the audience.)
“So, are you going to vote for the opposition?” “No, takut kena ISA. (No, I’m afraid I’ll get arrested under the ISA.)” (More laughter.)
The ISA become the ultimate bogeyman that is going to come and get you. Fear paralyses. The last election, however, has emboldened the people. With the Internet, more people realise that they are not alone in their dissatisfaction.
RPK finds it absurd that Malaysia has been in a state of emergency all these years. For only a state of emergency could legitimise the ISA, which violates the constitutional rights of Malaysians by giving the state the power to detain a person indefinitely without trial.
Both Anwar and RPK have a sense of humour, a crucial element in retaining the strength of spirit, even under the most dehumanising of conditions. Neither man has given up on his cause. RPK will not shut up, even after doing time in a 10ft by 10ft concrete box, subject to relentless interrogation and the disorientation of being blindfolded and handcuffed whenever he left the cell. Anwar, too, is still fighting.
A member of the audience pointed out that while Anwar stays on in Malaysia to fight, RPK has left the scene.
RPK pointed out that he was a writer while Anwar was a leader of a political movement. Anwar has to lead from Malaysia, whereas RPK must be able to continue writing to be effective. He cannot continue to play his role if he returns home to indefinite detention.
Needed: Election monitors
Leaving Malaysia for Britain was Marina’s idea. “If they would even pretend to give him a fair trial, we would stay, and I will stand by him, even if he goes to Kamunting,” she said.
Anwar, in a talk he gave in London last March, called RPK “an asset to the nation”.
What surprised me is that not a question was raised about the murder of the Mongolian woman, Altantuya Shaariibuu, during the question-and-answer session with RPK.
“I have written so much about this case that perhaps everyone feels like they have heard enough,” RPK said afterwards.
“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.”
It is a truism that absolute power corrupts absolutely. After so many years in power, the ruling party has reached such a height of corruption and arrogance that the prime minister did not even blush when he offered voters a bribe of RM5 million during the campaign for the recent by-election in Sibu.
“It’s our fault for not having challenged the government in power for over 53 years,” Marina said.
Only half the eligible 15 million voted in the last election, and the opposition only needed 300,000 more votes to take federal power.
During the question-and-answer session, a representative from Reporters without Borders asked how his organisation could help.
Said RPK: “One thing that we need very badly that we can’t seem to get is a foreign election watch. The United Nations, maybe, should send a team of observers to monitor and report on the electoral process.”