Raja Petra Kamarudin

His paternal grandfather, Raja Tun Uda Al-Haj Bin Raja Muhammad, KBE (1894–1976), was twice Menteri Besar of Selangor during the colonial era, the second speaker of the Federal Legislative Council (1955–1957), the first Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Penang (1957–1967) and the first Malaysian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (1953–1955).

His father, Raja Kamarudin bin Raja Tun Uda (1924–1970), studied law in the UK and worked for Unilever until his death whilst his mother, Che' Bariya Kamarudin (née Barbara Mabel Parnell) (1932–1978), was Welsh.

The 1948 ISA is a holdover from British colonial rule, intended for use against communist insurgents.

Raja Petra's wife Marina Lee Abdullah said: "(Police) said my husband has been sent to Kamunting this morning and that he will remain there for two years with no trial. This is the worst news I can receive but we will keep fighting for his release. This is dirty foul play by the government as they know that we are in the process of fighting for his release in the court but I was expecting this. 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."

Raja Petra's lawyer sought his release in a court hearing but this was dismissed.

Raja Petra's detention caused widespread protests by civil society groups, lawyers and other online commentators.

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."

Raja Petra bin Raja Kamarudin (born 27 September 1950) is a Malaysian blogger known for running the Malaysia Today website and publishing a series of controversial commentaries and articles on Malaysian politics in the website.

He is sometimes referred to by the initials RPK.

He is currently residing in Manchester, England.

In 1973, he married Marina Lee binti Abdullah, an ethnic Chinese convert to Islam, with whom he had five children.

Raja Petra is a member of the Selangor royal family.

He is the nephew of the late Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, the eleventh Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) of Malaysia and the seventh Sultan of Selangor.

His paternal grandmother Tengku Badariah was the elder sister of Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah, the second Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the eighth Sultan of Selangor.

Raja Petra was a leading member of Parti Keadilan Nasional (now Parti Keadilan Rakyat)—the party set up in response to the arrest of former Malaysian deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim in 1998.

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.

He was released 52 days later.

Raja Petra started the Malaysia Today website and his blog to facilitate open discussion on Malaysia's political and social scenes.

In his online writings, he is often humorous and sometimes critical of the current political developments in Malaysia.

He advocates for transparency, accountability and justice in the Malaysian political system.

He often denounces what he sees as deeply rooted money politics, corruption, and ethnic polarisation in Malaysia.

On 23 July 2007, Muhammad Muhammad Taib, UMNO's Information Chief at that time, lodged a police report against Malaysia Today at 12.57 p.m. at the Tun H.S. Lee police station, under Section 121 (B) and Section 123 of the Penal Code, Section 4 of the Sedition Act 1948 and Section 263 and Section 266 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, for an 11 July blog entry on the website deemed to contain writing that insult the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, degrade Islam and incite hatred and violence between local ethnic groups.

Raja Petra Kamarudin responded by releasing an article on Malaysia Today, lashing back on Taib with allegations of hypocrisy and corruption.

A second police report against Raja Petra was believed to be lodged after the release of the article, and Raja Petra was summoned to the Dang Wangi police station on 25 July 2007 for eight hours of questioning.

His wife was also questioned for an hour.

He was detained for a second time under the Internal Security Act, at 1.10pm on 12 September 2008.

On 7 November 2008, Raja, 58, was freed from detention after Shah Alam city High Court Justice Syed Ahmad Helmy Syed Ahmad granted his habeas corpus petition and ruled that his detention was illegal.

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."

On 2 July 2008, Malaysia Today was defaced by a person known only as "Gasakdotnet", replacing the website with a superimposition of Mahathir Mohammad's face into the poster of the film We Were Soldiers accompanied by the tagline "My Countrymen, My Fellow Malaysians", alluding to Mahathir's "battle" for Malaysia as the Prime Minister from 1981 to 2003.

Poor internet connectivity affecting several areas in Malaysia hampered efforts to restore the website promptly.

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.

Ministerial orders for remand under section 8 cannot be challenged in court.

Raja Petra was held without trial under the ISA at the Kamunting Detention Centre in northern Perak state, which had 60 ISA detainees, mostly suspected Islamic extremists.

The ISA permits an initial detention of two months for investigation, followed by a two-year jail sentence which can be renewed indefinitely.

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.

Born in Surrey, England, Raja Petra Kamarudin was educated at the Alice Smith School.

At the age of 13 he went to further his studies at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar, completing his education at the Victoria Institution.

As his father died when Raja Petra was 20, he began to support his mother and three younger siblings by working as a rice distributor and motorcycle dealer, introducing Yamaha and other Japanese motorcycle brands to the country.