Two NGOs lodged a police report this afternoon against three commentators in Raja Petra Kamarudin's Malaysia Today website for malicious remarks against the Perak sultan.

The comments were made in response to a Bernama news report titled, 'Raja Nazrin Defends Monarchy against Ridicule' posted on April 19 by a Malaysia Today administrator.

The report was lodged by Majlis Permuafakatan Ummah (Pewaris) and Ikatan Rakyat Insan Muslim Malaysia (IRIMM) at the Sentul district police headquarters.

Today’s action followed a similar report lodged by Gagasan Melayu Perak (GMP) on Wednesday at Sungai Senam police station near Ipoh, Perak.

In that report, GMP has mistakenly named another website, Malaysiakini , and has since apologise to the online news daily for the error.

According to the NGOs, the disparaging remarks made by the commentators were aimed at tarnishing the dignity of the Malay race and the royal institution.

The first commentator, 'Pasok', condemned Sultan of Perak Sultan Azlan Shah, while a second commentator, 'Sandokan', hurled a swear word at the ruler.

A third commentator, 'agadam magadam', suggested that a former prime minister be brought back so that he could bring the royalty under control.

The Bernama article highlighted Perak crown prince Raja Nazrin Shah's statements that the royal institution plays an integral role in uniting the people and developing the Malay civilisation.

Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra has since declared that he would go into 'self-exile' after failing to attend court to face a sedition charge yesterday.

The prominent government critic said that he did not believe he would receive a fair trial.

Kick them out of the country

IRIMM secretary-general M Thajudeen, who is also a PPP surpreme council member, described the Malaysia Today commentators as “uneducated beasts”.

"The blog owner's licence should be revoked, while the commentators should be exiled from the country. They are not Malaysians.

"We urge all Malaysians to show respect towards the monarchy. No one should be allowed to make criticisms against the royal institution," said Thajudeen.

IRIMM president Amir Amsaa ( left in photo ) added, "This is not the first time that abusive comments have posted on the website.

"We hope that by lodging this police report, the government will finally draw a line in stopping these people from making remarks that ridicule the monarchy."

In a statement released by Pewaris, the NGO also expressed hopes that the public will refrain from touching on sensitive issues.

"The Malay rulers must be defended because they are the symbols of Islam and the Malay race in this country.

"The people of Malaysia ought to be more rational and not resort to such negative practices even if they profess different ideologies and political leanings. We should respect the Federal Constitution and the tenets in Rukunegara."

A small group of members of the two NGOs also yelled “Hidup Melayu! Hidup Tuanku! Allah Akbar!” after lodging the police report.

Although Malaysia Today features mostly critiques penned by Raja Petra, the website also publishes articles contributed by other bloggers as well as news pieces from various presses, such as the Bernama article at the centre of today's police report.

This is not the first time that a police report has been lodged against the popular website, which commands a large and loyal readership.

On May 6, 2008, Raja Petra was charged with sedition for implying that Prime Minister Najib Razak was involved in the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shariibuu in an article entitled, 'Let's Send the Altantuya Murderers to Hell'.

He was also charged for criminal defamation against Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, and two others, for allegedly implicating them in the murder.

Six months later, he was detained under the Internal Security Act for comments posted under his article, 'I Promised to be a Good, Non-hypocritical Muslim' which were deemed to mock Islam.