The Malaysia Today website editor has been ordered to report to the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters at 10am today and he would then be taken to the Kuala Lumpur court complex, according to a posting on his website.

In his June 18 declaration, Raja Petra claimed to have knowledge that two lieutenant-colonels and Deputy Premier Najib Razak's wife Rosmah Mansor were present when the body of Ms Altantuya was blown up on Oct 19, 2006.

When contacted, Raja Petra confirmed that the police wanted to charge him with criminal defamation. 'I expected that they would do that. I am not worried. I am well prepared,' he said.

He also discouraged people from gathering today to protest against the charge or arrest as he did not want to give the police any reason to arrest anyone.

He reiterated he would stand by his statutory declaration and stressed that he would not reveal who his informer is, given what had happened to private investigator P. Balasubramaniam who disappeared after making his statutory declarations.

'No matter what, I will stand by my statutory declaration. I will not succumb to any threat by anyone,' he said when asked whether he would revoke his declaration.

Mr Balasubramaniam earlier this month stirred up controversy when he issued a statutory declaration claiming that Datuk Seri Najib had an affair with Ms Altantuya. He later issued another statutory declaration to deny the claim before disappearing from the country.

Mr Najib has dismissed Raja Petra's statutory declaration as 'total lies, fabrication and total garbage' and said his wife had given her statement to the police.

The two lieutenant-colonels have filed defamation suits against Raja Petra, seeking several things, including an 'unreserved and unqualified' apology to be posted on websites and published in all national papers and RM1 million (S$420,000) in damages.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK