In a statement she issued, the daughter of blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin said that while as a ten-year-old, she did not understand what was going on in the country when former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was arrested on Sept 20, 1998, as a young woman today, she can see all too clearly that a “better Malaysia” is still a long ways off.

“This is not what we fought and sacrificed for. We wanted a better Malaysia, not old wine in a new bottle. Tunku Abdul Rahman died with a broken heart. I just pray that is not going to be the way my father dies as well,” she said.

She was referring to the detention of her father Raja Petra three years after Anwar’s arrest, and his arrest eight years again that saw him incarcerated for a second time in Kamunting.

“I did not see why our family should suffer for the sake of millions of Malaysians who really did not care whether my father lived or died,” she said.

She said her father “suffered a broken heart” and felt “betrayed” and added, “You just need to scan the Internet and the social media to comprehend it.”

“I wish to see an end to racism, discrimination, religious intolerance and extremism. That is the foundation of a better Malaysia and that is what Malaysians must aim for.”