The police yesterday confiscated two computers belonging to Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Kamaruddin who is under investigation over alleged seditious reports about the Negri Sembilan royal family.

Raja Petra told malaysiakini that five police officers from the Cyber Crime division came to his home in Sungai Buloh yesterday between 6pm and 7.30pm when they took away his personal computer and laptop.

He added the officers informed him that the confiscation is related to investigation under the Sedition Act after the Negri Sembilan royal family lodged a police report against articles alleging their misconduct which were published in Malaysia Today last month.

"The officers told me that the private secretary of (Negri Sembilan Ruler) Tuanku Jaafar was pressing for the police to act on the report," claimed Raja Petra who was interrogated for more than two hours in Bukit Aman on July 1 over the reports.

Alleged corrupt practices

The two-part special report entitled " The King's Revenge " and " His Royal Greediness " was published on July 1 and June 26 respectively.

The reports touched on alleged corrupt practices involving members of the royal family and its alleged involvement in the political downfall of former Negri Sembilan mentri besar Isa Abdul Samad who was suspended six years after being found guilty for money politics at the Umno elections in September last year.

On the raid, Raja Petra said the officers told him that the confiscated computers will be referred to a "forensic expert" from Mimos Bhd which is a government-owned ICT research and development company.

"I asked them what they want and they said they want to look at all the articles I have written. I told them that they will find nothing there because I do my work online which means none of my articles are stored in the (confiscated) computers. All I have in there are the 2001 and 2002 files," he said.

The officers then assured him that the computers will be returned to him on Monday in the event that no relevant evidence is found in them.

Website unaffected

Raja Petra said the raid will not stop Malaysia Today from continuing its operation as he is supported by a "team of 10".

"I've learnt from my past arrests and (Internal Security Act) detention. Now I make sure that I have a well-placed team so that the website operation will continue unhindered in the event I get arrested."

"I am well prepared. Like I told the officers today, Malaysia Today will be hotter if they put me inside (jail)."

Raja Petra is a well-known reformasi activist who ran a now defunct Free Anwar website and was once arrested and detained under ISA - a law that allows detention without a trial - in 1998.