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'AG's proposals an unabashed act to hide state's dirty secrets'
Published:  Feb 10, 2016 12:17 PM
Updated: 5:16 AM

Anti-corruption watchdog Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) is not amused by attorney-general Mohamad Apandi Ali’s proposal to amend the Official Secrets Act (OSA) to impose lifetime imprisonment and capital punishment for whistleblowers.

Its founding director, Cynthia Gabriel, described the proposal as “an unabashed act meant to conceal the state’s dirty secrets away from the public”.

Cynthia said in a statement today that the OSA is no longer a tool to protect national security.

“It has clearly acted as a shield to conceal the sins of corruption, punish the whistleblower, and nurtured a culture of impunity while helping shape a kleptocratic political leadership,” she said.

She cited a comprehensive position paper on OSA released by her centre last June, which has analysed how secrecy laws facilitate corruption and breed a culture of impunity.

On Feb 7, Apandi drew strident criticism , especially from journalists, when he said he was mulling to amend laws to increase the punishment for those who leak state secrets and journalists who report on them.

His office is looking to amend the Official Secrets Act 1972 to include life imprisonment and 10 strokes of the rotan as punishments.

Apandi was quoted in Sin Chew Daily as saying, "I am not joking. If I have 90 percent of evidence, I will charge the journalist, editor, assistant editor and editor-in-chief. I am serious, no kidding. We have too many leakages of secrets in Malaysia”.

"The right to know is not granted by the constitution," he is quoted as saying.

Review OSA to fight corruption

Cynthia said Apandi’s proposals ran contrary to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and the spirit of combating corruption.

The UNCAC states that state parties must take appropriate measures for the protection of witnesses, experts, victims and whistleblowers against retaliation or intimidation (Articles 32 and 33).

These may include measures to ensure the physical and psychological protection of witnesses, as well as for providing evidentiary rules allowing a witness to testify in a manner that ensures his/her safety.

Similarly, Article 37(4) requires states to put in place effective measures to encourage reporting by persons implicated, while Article 39(2) encourages reporting to law enforcement authorities.

Malaysia is a signatory of the UNCAC, and is obliged to respect and implement the provisions of the convention.

“As the top legal person in the country, the AG should review the OSA to fight corruption, not facilitate it, and make it a legal right for the public to obtain information on issues not related to national security,” Cynthia said.

“The AG should enact a law that deals with misconduct of public officials when it comes to wastage and leakage of public funds, bribery and outright corruption.

“This was tabled previously for the AG’s consideration but received no traction and has yet to be tabled in Parliament,” she added.

Cyhthia also proposed that the AG looks into strengthening the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010 to enable a protective and sustainable culture of whistleblowing in the country.

She added that it only with better protection can reporting on corruption can become a reality.

She suggested that amendments be made to Section 7 of the Whistleblower Protection Act to allow for better protection of the whistleblower, especially with regard to confidential government information.

“Also, Sections 23 and 36 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act need to be amended to allow the commission to go after public officials with unexplained wealth, and for those who abuse public office for personal gain,” she added.

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