[3] The court noted that "the grounds for the detention order by Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar for the blogger did not fall under the scope of Section 8(1) of the ISA.
"[4][5] In May 2010 Cheras Umno Division chairman Datuk Syed Ali Alhabshee called on the government to strip Raja Petra of his citizenship on the grounds that his activities could affect the peace of the country.
[8] On 11 April 2001, Raja Petra and ten other opposition activists were detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for allegedly plotting to overthrow then prime minister Mahathir bin Mohamad.
[citation needed] Raja Petra filed a habeas corpus application at the High Court on 16 September 2008 seeking his release from detention under the ISA.
On 22 September the Malaysian Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar signed an order to remand Raja Petra to the detention facility for up to two years under section 8 of the ISA.
Raja Petra was detained for allegedly 'insulting Islam' and publishing articles on his website which has tarnished the country's leadership to the point of causing confusion among the people."
[citation needed] Meanwhile, in Kota Kinabalu, the United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko) led by its Secretary-General Datuk Wilfred Madius Tangau, joined its three other Barisan Nasional (BN) counterparts MCA, Gerakan and MIC petitioning the Government review of the ISA.
Madius said the party supports former de facto Law Minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim's position that the ISA should only be used against those who posed a threat to national security, such as terrorists: "Clearly in the case of Seputeh MP, Teresa Kok, Raja Petra Kamaruddin and Sin Chew Daily reporter, Tan Hoon Cheng, there are so many other public order laws that can be used against them if, at all, there is a case to do so.
[22] Raja Petra Kamarudin responded by releasing an article on Malaysia Today, lashing back at Taib with allegations of hypocrisy and corruption.
[25][26] Raja Petra was charged on 6 May 2008 with sedition for allegedly implying that the Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak was involved in the sensational killing of a young Mongolian woman, Altantuya Shaariibuu.
[27] Several members of parliament from the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition were present at Raja Petra's hearing, with one, Nurul Izzah Anwar, calling Malaysia Today "the primary source of a lot of unearthing of scandals especially corrupt practices of the leadership and the government...it has helped [open] the eyes of the nation to what is going on and what is wrong with the country.
[30] On his release, Raja Petra claimed that he had not, in fact, been on a hunger strike but was refusing to eat and drink for fear of being poisoned, as Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Cpl.
[34] The Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement alleged the interview was heavily edited and spin doctored in favour of Prime Minister Najib Razak just in time for the upcoming Sarawak state elections.
This was due to his statutory declaration connecting Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak's wife, Rosmah Mansor, saying she was present when Mongolian national Altantunya Shaariibuu's body was blown up.
[38] On 17 July, Raja Petra was charged with three counts of criminal intimidation over his statutory declaration on the murder of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu.
He is alleged to have defamed Deputy Prime Minister's wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor by making a libellous statement in the declaration which he affirmed on 18 June when he knew that it would tarnish her good name.