Sammy Chan, 22, a blogger at Life is a drama caused a furore when she posted inflammatory racist remarks against the Indian Malaysian community after her handphone was allegedly snatched by 2 Indian youths on 23 September. The posting had since removed after the post is swarmed with comments against her racist remarks against the Indians.

Her blog which was usually only read by her close friends received a surge in visitors after the posting and when Malaysiakini reported it today, the visitor count surged to over 9,000.

The Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) condemned her racist remarks posted in her blog and urged the police to take action against her.

However, today, she posted an official apology on her outburst against the Indian community, explaining that she was not a racist and was only acting out of anger in the last few days.

“I’m just a young and a fresh graduate. I hope the whole controversy will not affect my future,” she was quoted in Malaysiakini, adding that she is worried that the Internal Security Act (ISA) will be used on her.

Hindraf national coordinator R S Thanenthiran who earlier lodged a police report against her said Hindraf would accept her apology.

“We understand now that it was a ‘spur of the moment’ outburst. We sympathise with her loss of her phone. We hope that the lesson learnt from the controversy will help her to be more careful in future,” he was quoted in Malaysiakini.

This incident should be a lesson to all bloggers not to repeat the mistake and not to be over emotional in their postings. While I believe in freedom of speech, the freedom comes with responsibility. We should not in any way make inflammatory remarks against any community based on their ethnicity and religious beliefs.

On the other hand, Sammy should be given a chance since she has apologized and I hope she will be let off with a warning. There is, however, a particular racist out there who has till today refused to apologize for his remarks and stern action should be taken against him!

The Star

KAMUNTING: Malaysia Today editor and Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee Raja Petra Kamarudin has requested a change in his diet at the Kamunting detention centre here.

His wife, Marina Lee Abdullah, said her husband was unable to stomach the food prepared for detainees at the centre, despite having tried several times.

“My daughter told him to eat something but he said he really could not, that he had tried but vomited many times and suffered from diarrhoea,” she told reporters after her second Hari Raya visit with her husband yesterday.

She added that Raja Petra had asked prison authorities if they could serve things like bread and eggs instead of the usual rice and dishes, which were often “smelly”.

“They told him this could probably only be implemented after Hari Raya,” she said.

Marina also expressed disappointment that on both her visits, she was not allowed to meet with her husband in the open courtyard like the other detainees’ families but had to meet him in his cell.

“They told me the other detainees could meet with their families in the open courtyard but those who were ‘hardcore criminals’ could only have visitations in their cells.

“So I guess they consider my husband a hardcore criminal,” she said.

She added that she was also chastised for wearing a short-sleeved blouse and slacks.

“They told me to put on a coat or something, as they did not want me to offend the other prisoners.

“I told them I was there to meet with my husband and not the others,” she said.

During the visit, about 200 supporters and DAP members from as far as Penang and Kuala Lumpur demonstrated in a show of support for the controversial writer outside the camp.

The group, dressed in “I am with RPK” T-shirts, arrived in droves from 10.30am onwards and held banners calling for the release of Raja Petra and the Hindraf five, and the abolition of the ISA.

They also brought bouquets and hampers, which they presented to Marina and her family members.

Police reinforcements were brought in to direct traffic and handle the growing crowd, which later sang We are Malaysians (to the tune of We are the World) and Selamat Hari Raya.

They dispersed peacefully at 11.40am.

The Aidilfitri Open House jointly hosted by the Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his Muslim Cabinet Ministers in Putra World Trade Center (PWTC), Kuala Lumpur this year on 1 October, the first day of Aidilfitri had seen a group of peaceful demonstrators visiting the Prime Minister to urge him to free Raja Petra Kamarudin, the Hindraf 5 and the 60 other ISA detainees currently held in Kamunting.

Blogger Haris Ibrahim wrote in his blog The People’s Parliament his personal account on what happened in PWTC on that day.

The group had earlier assembled at The Mall opposite the PWTC before attempting to enter the Open House at 11am via the VVIP entrance but the plan would not work.

Hence, the group made it to the public queue where they met with another group from Hindraf. However, as the groups were wearing Free RPK and Hindraf T-Shirts, the police on duty refused to let them enter with the reason being politically incorrect costumes.

After a brief commotion with the groups negotiating with the police, they were finally allowed to enter and ushered into the food hall but they did not get to meet the Prime Minister as he was not there.

They exited the hall and regrouped at 2pm at the public queue and finally got to meet the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister was told to free all ISA detainees immediately by the groups. He was also given gifts such as T-Shirts with messages to Free RPK and Anti-ISA slogans.

Mission is accomplished by the groups.

A similar attempt has been planned for the Prime Minister’s Open House in Kepala Batas, Penang on 4 October.