Jean-François Juilliard, the secretary-general of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has written an open letter to the Agong, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, asking him to intervene in a court case involving controversial blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin.

raja petra and isa internal security act 230908Juilliard asked the Agong to force the government to drop its appeal against the Shah Alam High Court's decision to uphold Raja Petra's habeas corpus application and to free him from detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

RSF is a Paris-based organisation that promotes press freedom worldwide.

Juilliard called on the Agong to fulfil his constitutional obligation to defend the human rights of his subjects.

“(RSF) believe(s) that it is your role, as your country's monarch, to defend your people and ensure respect for their basic rights, while remaining completely neutral and independent of any political party, as required by the constitution.”

“This is why (RSF is) seeking your help and why we ask you to ensure the withdrawal of the appeal against Raja Petra's release and to prevent any other attempt to detain him under the ISA.”

Juilliard also responded to the Agong’s opening speech in parliament on Monday, in which the Agong criticised bloggers for stirring up racial issues.

“In the speech you gave (to parliament on Monday), you described the younger generation as Malaysia's hope and future. Raja Petra is a model of the free speech this generation should enjoy,” Juilliard wrote.

Extremely negative image of Malaysia

He also referred to Raja Petra’s website Malaysia Today where Raja Petra is alleged to have published seditious articles.

Juilliard criticised the Malaysian legal system and said that Malaysia was failing in its obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which the country has signed.

“Since the start of this case, the police and government officials have acted outside the law as established by the Constitution. Raja Petra was jailed under the only section of the ISA that allows the authorities to imprison a person without giving their reasons.”

“The charges brought against him violated some of his basic rights, including individual freedom, freedom of expression and freedom of religion.

"This situation threatens the rule of law in Malaysia and offers an extremely negative image of your country internationally.”

Juilliard’s views on the ISA are in sharp contrast to the opinions of many Umno leaders. In a televised debate broadcast yesterday, Dr Mohd Khir Toyo and Mukriz Mahathir called on the government to strengthen the ISA.

The letter from RSF also follows strong international criticism of Malaysia’s human rights record earlier this month by the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva.