LONG LIVE RPK!

Malaysia has joined the ranks of China, Vietnam and Burma as a leading violator of online freedom. Blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, also known as RPK, has been detained in Kuala Lumpur since 12 September because of the articles posted on his website.

He is the 70th cyber-dissident to be imprisoned, according to the tally kept by Reporters Without Borders, an international organisation that defends press freedom.

BUT he is the first cyber-dissident to be sentenced without trial to a long prison term.

For those of you who are still ignorant, RPK is godsend to all Malaysians who are unable to articulate and put their thoughts into paper. For this the ruling coalition has incarcerated him under the draconian ISA.

RPK is the conscience off all Malaysians has been made a PRISONER OF WAR.

Malaysian bloggers and independent media have a crucial role to play in this transition to democracy. The RPK case is one that concerns everyone because silencing a Malaysian citizen on account of his political or religious beliefs, whatever they are, means gagging an entire people. The ISA is a retrograde law, one worthy of an all-out dictatorship. Freeing Raja Petra means freeing the entire Malaysian people.

Despite all the cruelty & unjust, RPK remains spiritually strong and is still blogging from prison and for that he deserves all the medals of honour that mankind can ever think of and for you, at least a read of his message from Kamunting ....

GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH

By Raja Petra Kamarudin

I was perturbed when I read YB Teresa Kok’s statement that the food under ISA detention is equivalent or slightly better than dog food. It costs RM8 to feed a dog, according to the Malay Mail survey and only RM4.50 to feed on ISA detainees.

I feed my cats and fish premium food such as science diet and would never dream of feeding my pets the food that we are fed here. I actually stopped eating the food here after the first couple of days because it gave me diarrhea.

A couple of nights ago I vomited after eating the food and now I cannot even stand the sight or smell of the trays that they send to our cell twice a day.

I now survive on dates and plain water and I suppose if that is good enough for camels to survive in the Arabian Desert, it should be good enough for me.

I was told camels have a healthy sex drive and I would like to believe it because of the date that is my staple food. Of cause, there is no way I can test this theory until I come safely out of this place.

Actually, food is the least of my worries at this point of time. I am presently in three months solitary confinement and the only pussy I get to see is this mangy cat that somehow has found its way into my cellblock to sleep outside my locked door.

It has not rained since I arrived here a week ago and I was told Kamunting has not seen any rain for the last few weeks.

The heat in the cell is unbearable and the air is very stuffy.

The uncomfortable environment does help to put your mind off your growling stomach.
I am what they call under orientation. This three months’ orientation I suppose is to get me used to the 2 years I am going to spend here.

One of my favorite classics that I used to read in Standard 1 is the Tale of Two Cities, which is about the French Revolution. I can now better appreciate the battle cry “give me liberty or give me death”. They say you appreciate something only after it has been taken away from you.

Today, my liberty is at the top of my priority list. But I know it shall not come soon and it shall not come easy and it shall only come if there is a change of government and if the new government fulfills its promise to abolish the