Don’t play victim, you can return anytime, Saifuddin tells RPK

 

Raja Petra Kamaruddin (left) tweeted on Tuesday that the government did not want him to return to Malaysia as he is considered ‘dangerous’, a claim which has been denied by home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

PUTRAJAYA: Controversial blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin is welcome to return to Malaysia but must go through the proper channels and have the necessary travel documents, says Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

The home minister said Raja Petra could contact him directly if he did not have the necessary travel papers.

“If he misses his home country so much and wants to come back, he just has to do the right thing.

“He has to deal with the home ministry, not the youth and sports, or agriculture ministries. The question is whether he has done that. If he has, when? Who did he write to? Who in Bukit Aman did he contact?

“My advice to Raja Petra is, firstly, don’t play the victim. Secondly, if he genuinely wants to return, he is most welcome,” Saifuddin told members of the media in an interview at his office yesterday.

He claimed that Raja Petra, whom the minister regarded as someone he used to be friends with during the Reformasi movement, had fled Malaysia to escape court action.

In a Twitter video posted on Tuesday, Raja Petra said he had attempted to return to Malaysia several times and even met Ahmad Zahid Hamidi over the matter when the latter was deputy prime minister in the former Najib Razak administration.

He claimed he had also tried to negotiate his return with Bukit Aman “many times”, and had even held negotiations with “two ministers” as well as Azalina Othman Said on the matter.

“The government doesn’t want me to return to Malaysia because it fears I will be dangerous to the government. That’s the excuse they gave,” he alleged.

Raja Petra claimed he had managed to renew his passport with Zahid’s help, but did not disclose when it was done or if it had expired by now.

The blogger also claimed there were no outstanding court cases or charges against him, saying he had managed to set foot in the Malaysian embassies and high commissions in Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and London with no issue.

“Whatever charges against me have been dropped, the charges have been withdrawn,” he claimed.

Raja Petra was reported to have fled the country in 2009 after two arrest warrants were issued against him for failing to show up for court proceedings over allegedly defamatory articles posted on his blog. - FMT