Even before his arrest, Malaysia's most political blogger, Raja Petra Kamarudin, was attracting hundreds of readers to Malaysia Today, a website renowned for its controversial articles and slurs on various political figures.
Raja Petra predicted his own arrest on the site. When his prophecy came true today, supporters started a flurry of blog posts condemning his detainment.
Two weeks ago, the government ordered the Malaysian communications and multimedia commission to shut down Malaysia Today for allegedly inciting hatred of Islam in an article. It is believed this was the first time the government had ordered the closure of a website in the country.
Although the block was removed yesterday, Raja Petra has been detained under a colonial-era and draconian law called the internal security act (ISA), which allows for him to be detained indefinitely without trial.
Bloggers have called the authorities "cowards" and attacked the use of the ISA. Several are planning demonstrations to show their solidarity for Raja Petra.
In response, his wife has posted a YouTube clip in which she urges supporters to "give him a prayer" and "not to take to the streets".
His arrest has brought to the world's attention a law that Amnesty International has said should be revoked immediately, and is likely to have encouraged those who read Malaysia Today to fight for their rights and voice political concerns. It will be interesting to see for how long Petra Raja will be detained and what will become of Malaysia Today.
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