Blogger surrenders over comment

The blogger who had allegedly posted an insulting comment on the late Sultan of Johor's passing, surrendered to the police at about 4.40pm today.

It is learnt that the man, known by his blog name `Aduka Taruna' presented himself at the Kota Bharu district police station, accompanied by some of his blogger friends.

According to police sources, the case is being handled by the Bukit Aman police headquarters. It is not immediately known whether the blogger would be remanded.

Following the sudden passing of Johor Sultan Iskandar ibni Almarhum Sultan Ismail, the blogger allegedly posted the insulting comment at his blog. For this, at least 25 police reports were filed against the blogger.

Johor police chief Mohd Mohtar Mohd Shariff, was reported to have said that a special task force had been formed to investigate the matter and bring the blogger to court.

Following the outcry, ‘Aduka Taruna’ made an open apology and withdrew the posting.

In a related development, Bernama reports that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) will also investigate ‘Aduka Taruna’ for allegedly insulting the late Sultan of Johor, Information, Communication and Culture Minister Rais Yatim (below, right) said.

He said that the attorney-general would be asked to follow-up on a preliminary investigation to be done by the MCMC as it was ‘a serious matter’.

"This is just one of the many developments in the country. It is something which we don't want to dwell on.

"We need more people who are appreciative of those who have contributed. It is very seldom to find Asians lambasting a former head of state, especially the late Sultan of Johor who was the Yang di-Pertuan Agong," he told pressmen after opening a seminar on the contributions of Sumateran religious scholar Hamka at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) in Bangi today.

Rais was commenting a posting by blogger Aduka Taruna who allegedly insulted the late Sultan of Johor, Sultan Iskandar ibni Almarhum Sultan Ismail.

The minister hoped the people would not continue with such ‘uncivilised culture’ that was against our lifestyle, laws and the ‘1Malaysia’ concept.

"We have a lot of things to do. Nothing can be gained from running down someone who just died. We can learn from the dark history of Rome. Please use the intelligence given to build up Malaysia."

He added the ministry would allocate about RM100,000 to aid UKM students researching the contributions of Hamka.