FEBRUARY 28, 2005
Posted: March 30, 2005
Jeff Ooi, Jeffooi.com
HARASSED
Police questioned Malaysian blogger Jeff Ooi for two hours in connection with a contributor’s September 30, 2004 posting to his Web log, according to the Centre for Independent Journalism in the capital of Kuala Lumpur. Local and international news sources reported that Ooi is being investigated under Section 298A of the nation’s Penal Code, which concerns acts that foster “religious disunity,” and carries a penalty of two to five years imprisonment.
During questioning by Senior Investigating Officer Assistant Superintendent of Police Ratnakumar of the Criminal Investigation Division, Ooi was asked when and why he started blogging. He was also questioned about a front-page, October 2, 2004 story in the Malay-language daily Berita Hariang that accused Ooi of allowing a contributor to post disparaging remarks about Islam.
The contributor, who signed in as “Anwar”, had compared Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi’s vision of Islam to human excrement. Ooi reacted quickly to the statement and replied online, “What you say offends me; you have completely twisted the topic of discussion.” Ooi requested an apology from the contributor and promptly removed the comment on October 1.
Ratnakumar told Ooi that the current investigation was a result of a police report filed against Ooi on February 24 by police themselves.
Last October, Ooi was threatened with detention when the Malaysian deputy Internal Security Minister Noh Omar warned that writers of insensitive comments on religious issues over the Internet could be detained without trial under the Internal Security Act. The minister told the local press that Ooi must “stop playing with fire or we will use the ISA.” Under the Internal Security Act, defendants may be imprisoned without trial for up to two years.
In October, Malaysia’s Internet regulator, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), took a statement from Ooi under the Communications and Multimedia Act. Accoring Ooi, the commission subsequently submitted a report to the Attorney General’s chamber and closed their investigation.