
RPK and his son
by Suflan Shamsuddin | The Malaysian Insider

RPK’s fugitive status arose out of him not making himself available to attend trials relating to charges for criminal defamation and sedition, and the prosecution’s appeal against his ISA release. Having languished in detention twice under wildly draconian and discretionary laws, in both cases subjected to police custody in solitary confinement in locations unknown and in cells no larger than the size of my toilet, never seeing the light of day for days on end, and never knowing where he is, would you not share his sense of impending rough justice, and be tempted to do the same thing, were you to have been in his shoes?
His real major ‘crime’ was to suggest in a Statutory Declaration published in the Internet that there were others involved in the murder of Altantuuya. But in his writings, RPK claims that it was not him that leaked this SD. In fact, his lawyers had handed over the SD to the prosecution team in person and in strict confidence with the hope of convincing them to expand their investigations. However the SD had been leaked by a blogger who disliked RPK, as a result of which RPK was charged for criminal defamation.

Instead he has imposed self-exile upon himself and most of his family, and taken himself out of the public sphere in order to continue his cause to speak out against matters for which he continues to feel strongly. And the rhetoric from those who want him brought down has grown stronger and bolder.
No matter how you look at it, RPK’s actions are not that of a heinous and evil nature that befits the tag of being a vicious criminal. After all, at the end of the day, no matter whether one agrees with him, or condones the expressive language he uses, or questions his motives, countless of millions of Malaysians all share a common desire with him. And that is to see meaningful change to greater transparency, accountability, and tolerance in the country.


But when a son becomes a pawn or collateral damage in this game, then the dynamics shift. The lack of gamesmanship that this suggests to any onlooker is deplorable and sickening.
If indeed, the government is in anyway implicated in the physical and mental distress of Raja Azman, simply for the sake of getting back at RPK, then it deserves nothing less then the curse of the whole nation upon it. Were this to be the case, the people will damn this government in everyway it can, and those involved, for such a cowardly and shameful act. I am reasonably sure that every moment RPK and his family is tormented by the uncertainty of his son’s fate, millions of Malaysians around the world will be similarly tormented alongside them in sympathy for the pain that only a father, a mother or a member of the family can feel under such circumstances.

I beseech the government to clarify his condition and the circumstances under which he has been looked after. Prove to the people that the government is beyond reproach in this matter.
Let this not end in a tragedy for a family and a tragedy for the nation.
