Caged won't be cowed by police probe, says spokesperson Rama

Citizens Action Group on Enforced Disappearances (Caged) spokesperson Rama Ramanathan today said that he was not going to be intimidated by being investigated by the police for an article he penned.

He reportedly told the press at Bukit Aman that a few bad apples were giving the police force a poor reputation.

Meanwhile, a source told Malaysiakini that Rama was questioned for over an hour at Bukit Aman.

"Police then went to his apartment without a warrant and took away his laptop and phone," claimed the source.

Rama is now at Sentul police station making a report on the seizure assisted by a lawyer.

It is understood that Rama is being investigated under Section 504 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission Act which deals with “intentional insult” and “the improper use of network facilities”.

This follows a blog article on Oct 20 in which he wrote that the sister of activist Jufazli Shi Ahmad may have played a crucial role in preventing her brother from becoming an 'enforced disappearance' victim.

“I think the real focus is on all the things that I have been writing of late regarding the proposed Independent Police Complaints of Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) and enforced disappearances and the article is just a convenient topic for them to zero in on,” Rama told the press, according to a report in Free Malaysia Today.

Rama said instead of telling him to change what they disagreed with, the police had chosen “to use their power to intimidate, telling us that they have the power and they can call us in whenever they want”.

Rama (above) was asked to record his statement at Bukit Aman on Monday, on his posting on the arrest of fellow activist Jufazli Shi Ahmad.

On his blog last month, Rama alleged that Jufazli’s sister, Nurazimah, could have thwarted an attempt of enforced disappearance when she intervened during her brother’s arrest.