Pak Lah to join me in jail?

Update: Press Statement version below

Looks like Fu Ah Kiow also had a little birthday present for me. Malaysiakini:

The police are investigating five Malaysians for posting seditious messages on the Internet, the Dewan Rayat was told today. (Deputy Internal Security Minister Fu Ah Kiow) said one of them had already been arrested and investigations into the case are in its final stages.

The police are considering whether to charge him for the alleged offence, he added. Met at the Parliament lobby later, Fu said the arrested individual was PKR webmaster Nathaniel Tan, who was hauled up in July over a ‘seditious’ comment posted on his blog.

:P :)

But check this out:

As for the four others, it included an email containing seditious remarks pertaining to race. The rest are a company director, whose company website carried a seditious posting, one ‘Dr Ng Seng’ who posted a seditious article on the Prime Minister’s Department’s website and student Wee Meng Chee for his satire of Negaraku posted on Youtube.

For those that might have forgotten, I was arrested supposedly on account of a comment that was posted on my blog (which I had even taken the time to moderate).

The commenter left a link clearly indicating the original source of the comment’s content (it was in fact one of two pages).

Nonetheless, the police saw fit to arrest me for allegedly publishing official secrets.

This morning, colleague and friend, Nik Nazmi brilliantly pointed this out:

If I am responsible for comments in my blog, isn’t YAB Abdullah Badawi responsible for comments on his website, and not the so-called “Dr. Ng Seng?”

Maybe Mob can help get a poster ready: Free Dollah Now!

:)

Double standards aside, I must say this: Believe it or not, I’m not usually one to go on and on about freedom of expression. The category in my blog even uses a different term: Responsible Free Speech.

That said, if the police continue to recommend prosecution in this case, I will take it as nothing less than an attempt to intimidate all bloggers and Malaysians trying to speak the truth.

I must conclude this due to the absolute baselessness of any connection they could possibly draw between me and ‘publishing official secrets.’

It’s baloney, and part of my experience while under investigation (at some point under ASP ranked cops now being investigated for corruption) gave me great cause to believe that their entire case on me is built on goofy google searches and an daft inability to differentiate between terms like ‘posts,’ ‘comments’ and ‘moderation.’ That and finding scapegoats, of course.

But don’t take my word for it. Read the comment, read the original post, or read anything in the blog and feel free to tell me whether I’ve slandered or incited anyone.

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Intimidation is a wearisome thing. It annoys me, and makes my loved ones anxious :(

But one must take these things in stride, keep a stiff upper lip and all that (it’s going to be ok, sweetie!).

The outpouring of support when I got kidnapped damn near moved me to tears, and I know that should anything happen, I can count on all of you again.

You have no idea how much that means to me.

You know, there’s a second part to ‘Lawan tetap lawan!’ that is not heard as often: kawan tetap kawan :)

Prime Minister must be held to same standard as all Malaysians

The authorities continue to investigate comments made on both my website and the Prime Minister’s, in addition to the case of Wee Meng Chee and two other unnamed cases.

I am confident of facing any investigation or charge with my integrity intact and my conscience clear.

I only hope the Prime Minister will also be willing to subject himself to a full investigation, given that he too is the owner of a website in which a contentious comment appeared.

If I am deemed responsible for the content on my website, consistency and logic suggests that the Prime Minister should be responsible for the content on his.

If I, “Dr. Ng Seng,” Wee Meng Chee and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi all stand equal before the law, then the same standard must be applied to the investigation of all our cases.

If not, then the law enforcement and judiciary of Malaysia is a farce.

The Deputy Internal Security Minister also charged that anonymity and overseas servers make investigations more difficult.

Following the example of Jeff Ooi, my website has been published under my name and hosted with a Malaysian hosting company since day one to reflect my commitment to responsible free speech and my willingness to be liable for what I write.

Perhaps the difficulties in investigation lie not in these external factors but with the level of understanding the authorities have of the internet and new media.

Police resources would likely be better spent identifying those who are spreading rumours of fictitious weapons caches and new riots in Kampung Baru then attempting to stifle the voices of Malaysians who remain dedicated to moderation and rational discourse.

Despite this atmosphere of intimidation and misinformation, I am confident that Malaysians will not waver in their dedication to uphold and spread the truth responsibly.

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Perdana Menteri mesti setaraf dengan rakyat di bawah undang-undang.

Pihak berkuasa terus menyiasat komen-komen di laman web saya, laman web Perdana Menteri, serta kes Wee Meng Chee dan dua kes lagi.

Saya yakin dan sedia berhadapan dengan sebarang siasatan dengan integriti dan dhamir yang bersih.

Saya mengharapkan agar Perdana Menteri akan turut bersedia untuk disiasat sepenuhnya, kerana beliau juga merupakan pemilik laman web di mana sebuah komen yang kontroversial telah dipaparkan.

Jika saya bertanggungjawab ke atas kandungan laman web saya, maka secara logiknya, Perdana Menteri juga harus bertanggungjawab ke atas kandungan laman web beliau.

Jika saya, “Dr. Ng Seng,” Wee Meng Chee dan Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, semuanya berada pada aras yang sama di bawah prinsip perundangan. maka piawaian yang sama harus digunapakai dalam penyiasatan yang dijalankan ke atas kami.

Jikalau tidak, terbukti bahawa penguatkuasaan undang-undang dan sistem kehakiman negara kita tidak mempunyai makna langsung.

Timbalan Menteri Keselamatan Dalam Negeri juga mendakwa bahawa pengunaan nama samaran dan server antarabangsa menyulitkan penyiasatan.

Meneladani pengalaman saudara Jeff Ooi, laman web saya diterbitkan di bawah nama saya dengan mengunakan syarikat Malaysia seawal hari pertama untuk menunjukkan komitmen saya terhadap kebebasan bersuara yang bertanggungjawab dan kesanggupan saya untuk bertanggungjawab kepada tulisan saya.

Mungkin kesulitan yang dihadapi oleh pihak berkuasa tidak berpunca daripada faktor luar ini tetapi disebabkan kegagalan pihak berkuasa untuk memahami secara mendalam keupayaan internet dan media alternatif.

Tenaga kerja polis, wajar digembleng untuk mengenalpasti mereka yang menyebarkan khabar angin mengenai kontena senjata dan rusuhan baru di Kampung Baru daripada cuba membisukan suara rakyat yang berpegang teguh kepada prinsip kebebasan bersuara yang sederhana dan rasional.

Walaupun ditekan dengan pelbagai bentuk intimidasi dan penyelewengan maklumat, saya yakin rakyat Malaysia akan terus mempertahan dan menyebarkan kebenaran dan keadilan secara bertanggungjawab.

Nathaniel Tan

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Special thanks to polytikus, Lulu, Howsy :)