MALAYSIAN police recorded the statement of Raja Petra Kamaruddin in the United Kingdom earlier this week in relation to two police reports lodged against the blogger by Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali.

A team of three police officers from the federal police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur recorded his statement in a five-hour session on Wednesday.

Inspector-General of Police Mohamad Fuzi Harun confirmed that a police team was sent to the UK to question Raja Petra.

“It was to record his statement,” the IGP replied in a brief text message to The Malaysian Insight.

Police had to go to the UK to record Raja Petra’s statement as the pro-Umno blogger is living in exile there.

He fled Malaysia after being charged with sedition and criminal defamation in 2006 over a string of stories linking Prime Minister Najib Razak and wife, Rosmah Mansor, to the murder of Mongolian model and translator Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Apandi’s police reports, classified as criminal defamation, were lodged after Raja Petra accused the A-G of corruption in two articles – Strong rumours surrounding the AG: part 1 and part 2 – posted in his Malaysia Today blog.

Among the allegations levelled against Apandi was that the A-G had demanded RM4 million from a Chinese businessman, identified as a “business partner” of the sultan of Johor, on a case he had won.

Raja Petra also wrote about a purported meeting in 2015 between senior judges – namely former chief justice Arifin Zakaria, Chief Justice Md Raus Shariff and Court of Appeal president Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin – with a senior politician on an alleged plot to topple the government.

The attorney-general denied Raja Petra’s allegations of corruption and the story about how he landed the A-G’s post in the article, adding he will sue Raja Petra “till kingdom come”.

He lodged a police report in Kuantan, Pahang, while his office lodged a second report at the Putrajaya police station last month.

Apandi’s office had also lodged a report with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission against Malaysia Today. – November 4, 2017.