I refer to the malaysiakini report Umno lodges report against Malaysia Today . Although the man himself saw it coming, I was flabbergasted to read the report about the police report filed against Raja Petra, for the alleged crime of insulting Islam and the King.

The only insulting comments that I've come across were left by bloggers commenting on the site, not the editor himself. Is this another case of the powers-that-be being unaware of the mechanisms of a blog (ala Nat Tan's case) or are they just being indifferent to the fact in order to haul a thorn in their sides into court?

Articles on the website were by and large written in a logical, matter-of-fact manner. I fail to see how one man's opinion online is deemed an offence under Malaysian laws. Is the PDRM bent on policing the Internet now, when there are so many unresolved criminal cases lying about? Are we taking China's route now; tearing apart the deals of the MSC (Multimedia Super Corridor) so that the minds of the citizens are subjected to official viewpoints as it happens with government-controlled newspapers?

As a supporter of the original principles of Umno, I would hope that Umno Youth be more concerned about the lies that are being spread; perhaps it would be more appropriate for them to bring up the various issues of corruption that have been highlighted by Raja Petra.

I am sure Muhammad Muhammad Taib, who led the lodging of the report, would want to publicise the issue and clear his name as Raja Petra can't possibly have evidence to back up his rhetoric, can he? If the issues were brought to an open, impartial court and the man be given the opportunity to present his evidence (or lack thereof) then we would have justice. To deny justice, after all, is the ultimate insult to Islam.

At the end of the day, this just appears to me to be yet another attempt of shouting 'bodoh' at individuals who bring up issues of national importance rather than addressing those issues. One can only sweep so much under the carpet before the bulge is noticeable. And one can only hold off the nausea for so long.