So Tan Hoon Cheng was detained for her own safety! Interesting sort of protection scheme, I must say.
Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar says the Sin Chew Daily reporter may be released as early as today, according to The Star online.
He said Tan was detained to ensure her safety as police intelligence indicated that there were threats to her life after she reported on Ahmad Ismail’s allegedly racist remarks.
Check out the Aliran website for updates on the ISA arrests.
She was detained at 11.18pm in the KL area.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng speaking at a press conference described her arrest as a “travesty of justice” and “a mockery of democracy”. There appears to be a massive crackdown to prevent 916 from happening, he observed.
Update at 11.43pm: Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng is now giving a press conference.
Sin Chew journalist Tan Hoon Cheng has been detained in Penang. She is the journalist who reported on the Ahmad Ismail statements.
Here are a couple of quick reactions.
A statement from the Aliran exco:
RPK’s detention is unjust as it denies him his democratic right to defend himself. He should have been charged in open court in relation to the earlier charges made against him under the Sedition Act. By resorting to the ISA, his innocence can no longer be proven. This is indeed undemocratic, unjust and un-Islamic. Full statement: Release Raja Petra and retract show-cause letters
Aliran member Toh Kin Woon has also come out strongly:
As I mentioned in the earlier posting, the show-cause letters to three newspapers were reminscent of Operasi Lalang in 1987. And now a couple of hours later, we hear Raja Petra has been detained under the ISA.
So they lift the block on Malaysia Today one day, and then detain Raja Petra the next day. What kind of warped thinking is this? Are they trying to silence him as he has threatened to expose everything in court?
Barely a day after the Cabinet order the lifting of a block on certain websites, theSun, Sin Chew Jit Poh and Suara Keadilan have been issued show-cause letters, reports Malaysiakini.
Just when you felt that they had done something right by lifting the block on websites, they now do this.
But is he alone? Many Malaysians – incredibly, even those who not-so-long-ago were not the least bit interested in politics – are practically willing him on.
Check out this SBS video documentary, looking ahead from the Permatang Pauh by-election.
It looks like the 16 Sept target has been officially delayed. This excerpt from a Pakatan statement in Kit Siang’s blog.
Kepimpinan Pakatan Rakyat yang bertemu hari ini yakin proses pembentukan kerajaan baru yang berlandasan Agenda Reformasi sedang berjalan secara lancar. Kami percaya kerajaan Barisan Nasional akan diganti dalam masa terdekat.
Pakatan Rakyat yakin mendapat bilangan ahli Parlimen yang mencukupi untuk mempunyai majoriti dalam Parlimen yang membolehkan penubuhan kerajaan baru. Bagaimanapun tarikh sebenar penubuhan kerajaan mungkin terpaksa dilewatkan dari 16 September sebagaimana rancangan awal akibat beberapa ahli Parlimen telah dipaksa ke Taiwan.