Jesse Jackson says;"Leaders must be
tough enough to fight,
tender enough to cry,
human enough to make mistakes,
humble enough to admit them,
strong enough to absorb the pain,
and resilient enough to bounce back and keep on moving."
The Ultimate Malaysian
-RAJA PETRA KAMARUDDIN aka RPK
IF I'M GUILTY, GO AHEAD, HANG ME
M'sia Today's Raja Petra questioned by cops for insulting King on website
INSULT the King?
06 August 2007
INSULT the King?
How can he do that, he says, when the King has been his buddy for a long time?
If he is guilty of the offence, Raja Petra Kamaruddin says, he will take the punishment, which may include death, and walk to the gallows with dignity.
Netizens have been rallying round the 56-year-old, who runs the popular Malaysia Today website, as ruling party politicians demand a crackdown on bloggers.
Raja Petra, a cousin of the Selangor Sultan, was questioned by the police after it was alleged that his website had insulted the King and incited racial hatred.
The article in question was on the alleged misdeeds of Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib, the Umno information chief.
It revisited Tan Sri Muhammad's past, including how he secretly wed the late Sultan of Selangor's daughter.
It recounted how Tan Sri Muhammad, a former menteri besar of Selangor, was charged in Australia with carrying the equivalent of $1 million into that country in 1997.
He was later acquitted by an Australian court.
The police acted on a complaint from Tan Sri Muhammad.
But Raja Petra scoffed at the accusation.
MIND-BOGGLING
He wrote: 'It is mind-boggling that this ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name would accuse me of insulting the Agong...
'I used to ride horses with him along the beach in Kuala Terengganu.
'I also made trips to London to meet the Agong... when he was still just the Raja Muda of Terengganu and a student in London.'
He wrote that they would visit night spots together.
'Would I insult my long-time friend who is now the Agong when I... kiss his hand and he would withdraw it... as he considered me a buddy rather than a subject?'
Several opposition members turned up to support Raja Petra when he went to the police station.
But just who is this man, whose website claims 340,000 daily visitors?
Raja Petra, who has a Welsh mother, was educated at the exclusive Malay College Kuala Kangsar.
He was a successful businessman before embarking, in his late 40s, on a new career as an author and journalist.
In 1973, at the age of 23, he married Marina Lee Abdullah who was then 18.
She is of Siamese-Chinese descent, and a book publisher.
Raja Petra and Marina have five children and two grandchildren.
In his website he explains why he was named Petra.
'My 'official' name is Petra, which is Greek for rock. In Arabic it would be AlButra and in Latin, Peter...
'My family calls me Peter... My friends of course call me Pete or Pet.
'My parents chose the name Petra/Peter because this name is common to both sides of the cultural divide.
'It is acceptable to both the Welsh and Malay side of my family. My brother's name is Idris because this too is both a Malay and Welsh name (yes, Idris is a Welsh name).
'And my sisters; both of whom are British citizens; are named Norita and Norma, again both Western as well as Malay names.
'And with that both sides of our family were appeased. I mean, imagine me being named Zulkarnain.
'That would be a mouthful for my English cousins.'
He also writes in detail how he met his wife.
'Marina and I met about 40 years ago in late 1967 or early 1968. I can't remember the exact date but I do know it was about a year or two before the 13 May 1969 race riots.
'Marina, who was then only 14 and went by the name of Mable, was in form two in the Bukit Nanas Convent. I was in form five in the Victoria Institution.
'Ours is not a case of love at first sight but love at first fight. I was rushing to school on my motorbike and took a short cut through Brickfields.
'Marina was running across the road to catch her school bus and I almost knocked her down.
'I shouted something obscene at her and she responded in an even more obscene manner.
SET UP
'One day, I needed a date for a dance at the Selangor Club and my brother offered to introduce me to a girl he happened to know who lived in Jalan Thambi Abdullah in Brickfields.
'Lo and behold, it was this girl who I almost killed and who I had exchanged pornographic words with.'
Raja Petra used to own a motorcycle dealership and rice distributorship.
He has always been fascinated with motorcycles since he was young and even toured Europe with his wife on a bike.
His interest in politics began in the mid-1970s when he and Marina moved to Terengganu where they owned a noodle factory.
He was soon moving around in PAS circles and got to know the party leaders so well that he performed his haj with PAS president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang.
In April 2001, he was rounded up under Malaysia's Internal Security Act and accused of plotting to overthrow the government.
He had taken up the cause of Datuk Anwar Ibrahim and headed the Free Anwar Campaign.
He was held for 52 days in solitary confinement.
After Mr Anwar was released in 2004, Raja Petra decided to dedicate his time to a larger cause.
He wrote: 'Malaysia is not yet free so we need to now launch a Free Malaysia Campaign.'
The Malaysia Today website was part of that.
He promised to test 'how far Malaysia under its new Prime Minister (Abdullah Badawi) can honour, respect and tolerate free speech'.
He also vowed to never censor any news or comments posted on his site.
Even though he knows this puts him at risk of prosecution.
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He single-handedly roused the lethargic Malaysian's general public from their slumbers and that was his greatest gift to all Malaysians., a taste of freedom from the ruling oligarchy.The Malaysians in generations to come will be thankful for his tenacity in righting the wrongs perpertrated by the government that was and still is very, very, very corrupt.All this from a humble prince that was forced into speaking out for those voiceless millions of malaysians.
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