Raja Petra ordered to reveal sources for claims against Shafee in website

Raja Petra, sued for defamation by lawyer Muhammad Shafee.

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 — The Kuala Lumpur High Court today directed Malaysia Today website editor Raja Petra Kamarudin to reveal his sources for allegations made in three online articles against lawyer Datuk Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.

Shafee had filed a defamation suit against the blogger, popularly known as RPK, and also an ex-parte application for an order that compelled him to reveal the identities of visitors to his web portal who had left comments and messages below the articles.

RPK had accused Shafee in three articles dated Aug 6, 7, and 11 of masterminding the fresh sodomy accusations against opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Justice Tee Ah Sing granted the orders in chambers that also included several injunctions, the first of which directs Raja Petra to remove the defamatory articles from the Malaysia Today web portal within two days as well as to remove any other follow up articles and comments posted by visitors.

The judge also granted injunctions to restrain Raja Petra or his agents from further publishing the disputed articles or any other articles, journals, letters, comments, posts and statements that are defamatory of Shafee on the web portal or any third party websites.

The court fixed Sept 2 to hear the inter-parte application.

Shafee told The Star online that the order granted by the High Court was against "a blog owner who continuously, maliciously and contumeliously went on a rampage to defame me."

"I have not seen anything more defamatory than what this man has written. None of what he said is true," he said.

Shafee also challenged Raja Petra to enter appearance in this case and dared him to prove the truth of the contents of all three articles. Raja Petra is already facing a criminal defamation and sedition case related to the trial of murdered Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu.

-TMI