Second blogger arrested

An opposition blogger has been arrested for allegedly displaying a national flag upside down on his website, as the government comes under more pressure.

The latest arrest follows that of the well-known blogger, Raja Petra Kamaruddin on Friday under the country's Internal Security Act, which allows for detention without trial.

He had attacked government figures on his website, called Malaysia Today, and was charged with sedition and defamation for alleging that Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife were linked to the sensational murder of a Mongolian woman.

Opposition Democratic Action Party politician Teresa Kok was arrested at the same time, apparently for objecting to a mosque broadcasting its prayers too loudly.

A reporter, Tan Hoon Cheng, from the Chinese language daily Sin Chew was also arrested on the weekend but was released after a day.

Rights groups have protested against what they say is a government crackdown on dissent and repression of constitutional freedoms of speech.

They say about 63 people are being held under the ISA.

The government minister responsible for legal affairs, Zaid Ibrahim, resigned earlier this week in protest at the government's resort to the harsh law.