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Malaysia blogger arrested for dissent

Malaysian police arrested a prominent blogger on Friday while authorities probed three newspapers in a crackdown against dissent and racial hatred.

  • Reuters
  • Published: 22:59 September 12, 2008
  • Gulf News

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian police arrested a prominent blogger on Friday while authorities probed three newspapers in a crackdown against dissent and racial hatred.

"Raja Petra has been arrested under the Internal Security Act," a senior police officer said. Raja Petra's family confirmed the arrest. The arrest was under the ISA, which allows indefinite detention without trial.

Racial tensions have mounted after a mid-ranking official of Abdullah's political party UMNO labelled ethnic Chinese as "immigrants" and likened them to American Jews who he said were hungry for power.

The Home Ministry ordered Sin Chew Daily, the Chinese daily which first reported the comments by the official, to explain or face suspension or its publishing licence revoked, the newspaper said on Friday.

The Sun was singled out for allegedly "manipulating and playing up numerous sensitive issues".

Suara Keadilan was hauled up after it published a report that the police chief was paralysed after heart surgery.

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