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The government has done it yet again. The latest in a series of embarrassing mis-steps was to deny popular blogger who many Malaysians see as their Commander-in-Chief, Raja Petra Kamaruddin (RPK), a rightful day in court after being detained under the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA).

Instead, on the eve of his habeas corpus hearing, Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar signed RPK's detention order under section 8(1) of the act, which provides for detention without trial for two years which can be extended at the will of the home minister if the detainee is perceived as a threat to the nation.

RPK a threat to national security? Indeed these are dark days for Malaysians. Just when things appeared to be calming down with the release of Sin Chew Daily reporter Tan Hoon Cheng and Seputeh opposition MP Teresa Kok who were arrested on the same day as RPK, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's government struck again by sending RPK to the infamous Kamunting detention centre.

The government is definitely not taking RPK lightly. Some are now saying that the actual target of last weeks' ISA crackdown was RPK himself and that Teresa and Tan’s arrests were only a smokescreen to put RPK out of commission.

With so much happening in Malaysia regarding Pakatan Rakyat’s alleged takeover of government spearheaded by Anwar Ibrahim, the upcoming Umno elections and the pressure from the rakyat as well as rogue Umno members for Abdullah to step-down, who would stand to gain the most from silencing RPK? This is indeed the last kind of publicity that Abdullah needs.

RPK has been highly critical and cynical of today's government, but then again, any right thinking, sensible Malaysian would be, looking at the direction Malaysia is headed. But as critical as RPK may be, his attacks leveled against Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak stand out above all other issues surrounding the government.

His articles linking the deputy premier and his wife Rosmah Mansor to the murder of a Mongolian woman, although appearing to be far-fetched and more like a plot of a Hollywood blockbuster, have managed to put the spotlight on and raise questions of Najib's credibility to be Malaysia's next prime minister.

With Umno party elections around the corner, and talk of Abdullah handing over the reins to Najib before 2010, is it safe to say that Najib would want to see RPK silenced – at all costs. Now that RPK has been dealt with, Najib can ascend the throne of Umno comfortably without any hindrances.

In the last weeks, we've seen Umno desperately clinging on to power. Sending the alleged BN MPs who were about to cross over to Pakatan for an agricultural study trip to Taiwan convinced many that Anwar had the numbers to form government.

RPK also came out and declared in one of his last postings on Malaysia Today that not only was he prepared to bet money, he dared to put his freedom on the line that Anwar would be able to form the next government.

Last week's ISA crackdown put civil rights activists, bloggers and opposition MPs, including Anwar himself on red-alert. These are desperate times for Umno, and we all know what desperate measures desperate people resort to.

In times like these, no matter how unjust the ISA is, we can't help but wonder if RPK would actually be safer in Kamunting? We know there are many sympathisers within the institutions of government that are afraid to speak up but are all waiting for Pakatan to take over the reins.

Perhaps, just perhaps, with all the talk of a transfer of power from BN to Pakatan and the high- stake poker games involving not only Umno but all who are connected to the party, RPK may be safer in Kamunting rather than freely roaming the streets of Bangsar.

After all, this is the only country in the world (besides Zimbabwe and Burma) where the police take you into custody to keep you safe. As much as it hurts us to see RPK being held in ISA and as much as it hurts to see his wife Marina and their children in times like these, we should look on the bright side. If the government were to wish physical harm onto RPK, they could have easily accomplished this already.

Our only hope for the future of RPK, the Hindraf 5, the other ISA detainees and indeed all Malaysians, will hinge on Anwar’s capacity to deliver and form the next government. Anwar would no doubt have to move fast in light of his upcoming sodomy trial.

The BN government will definitely go all out to deny him bail. But with the rakyat and very capable people in Pakatan behind him, Anwar may just pull this off. And when Anwar is able to form the next government through a peaceful process, RPK will not be the only one collecting his winnings, the rakyat too, will be headed for a windfall.

In the meantime, we should continue to pressure the government of the day to release all those held under the ISA and we shall not waver from our one goal of seeing a just Malaysia emerge from all this.

RPK should hang on and have faith in Anwar, Pakatan and the rakyat . He is after all, already a hero, and a Malaysian legend in the making.

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