Hounded by the highest government offices, detained twice under the notorious Internal Security Act, and threatened with ‘striped citizenship’, Raja Petra Kamaruddin is much more than a thorn in the side of a governing coalition that has ruled Malaysia uninterrupted since 1957. Founder and editor of online news blog Malaysia Today, RPK (as he is known online), has been accused by the Malaysian government of being a security threat.

The son of royals and scourge of corruption is also Malaysia’s most famous online political activist and a forceful advocate of transparent, accountable government. His news website hosts many supposedly official documents detailing government corruption and scandal. It was the platform from which he launched an online attack against Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak for alleged involvement in a sensational murder.

In this, his first public lecture during his latest visit to Australia, RPK will speak as the chairman of the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) – a group of human rights lawyers and other professionals, political veterans, civil society activists and ordinary citizens targeting a corruption-free, transparent government, free and fair elections and the end to racial politics.

With general elections looming and MCLM gaining momentum as a third-force in Malaysia’s sparsely populated political landscape, RPK will reflect on the hope for people power, social justice and changing the country’s domestic politics for the better – byte by byte.

Wednesday 2 March 2011 6 – 8pm
Theatre 3 Manning Clark Centre, University Avenue, ANU

Further information is available here.