Screenshots

Blogger and PKR webmaster Nathaniel Tan (Nat) was released just after 5pm yesterday after a four-day remand.

He was released on police bail and he has to report back to the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) in Kuala Lumpur, on July 31.

It's still opaque as to the real reasons for Nat's arrest in police hands.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Bar Council has condemned the manner Nat was arrested as a threat to the promise of an open society.

Media reports said Nat had allegedly breached the Official Secrets Act, while The Star reported more precisely by claiming Nat to be in possession of documents linked to the alleged corruption investigations on Deputy Internal Security Minister Johari Baharum.

Meanwhile, Nat's two computers that were siezed by the police are still under police retention, purportedly to run ‘forensic tests’ on them

At the same time, Nat's lawyer R Sivarasa said that his team would be still pursuing a revision of Nat’s remand order at the Kuala Lumpur High Court today (July 18).

“We expect the prosecutors to argue that the matter is academic, but there are important issues being taken up in the revision application such as his denial of access to lawyers,” he said.

Yesterday, when asked by Malaysiakini if the police, during his four days of remand an interrogations, had indicated other bloggers might be targeted, Nat replied: “I don’t know who’s next and I don’t know if this is a trend that would continue.

However, Nat claimed he was subjected to daily interrogations with different police officers. “(But) they all kept asking the same questions... it was very tiring,” he added.

All these, indicate that there are many questions that remain unanswered in relation to Nat's arrest, and the motive of the police behind it.

' No to a Police State in Blogosphere'

In view of this, Tony Pua, blogger and Economic Advisor to DAP Secretary-General, and the DAP, are organising a public forum tomorrow night (July 19) to discuss the issues involved. Please come, and bring your friends.

Theme: ' No to a Police State in Blogosphere'
Venue: KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall
Date: 19th July 2007 (Thursday)
Time: 7.30 pm
Admission is Free; Bring Friends

The panel of Speakers include:

1 ) Nathaniel Tan, Blogger & Aide to PKR Advisor
2 ) Jeff Ooi, Blogger, Vice-President, National Alliance of Bloggers (ALL-BLOGS), Pro-tem
3 ) Harris Ibrahim, Lawyer & Founder of The People's Parliament
4 ) Nurul Izzah Anwar, Special Assistant to PKR Advisor
5 ) Lim Guan Eng, Secretary-General of DAP
6 ) Tony Pua, Economic Advisor to DAP Secretary-General

Chairperson: Soon Li Tsin, Journalist & Blogger

According to Tony, the objectives of the public forum are manifold: ( 1 ) To demonstrate our solidarity with Nathaniel who has been dealt with great injustice, ( 2 ) To show our steadfast refusal to let the Government curb the democratisation impact of blogs and the Internet, and ( 3 ) To voice our displeasure at the OSA.

"We are inviting Nathaniel to speak to us and relay his experiences at the Forum," Pua said. "We'll also try to leave as much time to the floor as possible, so as to enable greater interaction at the forum."

For those who would like to find out a little more about Nat, the young man who wants to do so much for his country, please check out the archives in Screenshots.

Here's a quick note on the OSA:

The OSA in its current form allows for a government to administer this country covertly and in defiance of the accountability and transparency that is crucial to democratic process. As human rights lawyer, Malik Imtiaz says, "this impacts on all our lives in more ways that we can begin to understand as the government is given a means to thwart legitimate public interest by the forced suppression of material and relevant information."

It is this serious if you hadn't realised the implication of Nat's arrest.