Amnesty International today condemned the jailing of a leader of ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim's party as politically motivated, saying it was part of a "chilling" pattern in Malaysia.

Mohd Ezam Mohd Noor, the youth chief of the National Justice Party (Keadilan), was sentenced to two years' jail yesterday after being convicted of breaching the Official Secrets Act (OSA).

Ezam was accused of disclosing to reporters details of a probe by the Anti-Corruption Agency into International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz and former Melaka state menteri besar Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik in November 1999.

Amnesty, in a statement released today, said the sentencing was "part of a pattern which has a wider chilling effect on freedom of expression in Malaysia".

"The government's selective use of repressive laws against peaceful political dissenters is a well established practice," it added.

The human rights group said the OSA, which imposed "unjustified restrictions" on the right to freedom of expression, curbed access to information and curtailed public accountability.

Immediate release

The group called for Ezam's immediate release, and urged Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's government to repeal or amend the law and "other such repressive legislations".

"The use of the OSA today is a reminder that politically motivated detention in Malaysia can be a result of an array of vaguely worded restrictive legislation," it said.

Ezam, 35, was already serving a two-year detention order along with five other Anwar supporters who were arrested in April last year under the Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows detention without trial.

They are said to have planned violent street protests in support of Anwar, who is serving 15 years in jail on sex and corruption charges after being sacked in 1998.

In March 2001, the former close aide to Anwar was also charged with sedition, punishable by up to three years' jail, over his alleged call for mass anti-government protests, and is still awaiting trial.

Right to know

Meanwhile human rights organisation Suaram said in a statement today that Ezam's conviction was a form of political victimisation and a testimony to the government condoning the corrupt practices of ministers and government officials.

"The question is why are there no actions or prosecution brought against the two ministers?

"Should this type of information — which is of interest of the public — be classified as confidential or official secrets in the name of 'national security? Whose security are we talking about here?" said Suaram coordinator Yap Swee Seng.

He added that the judiciary of Malaysia had failed to rectify the situation to uphold justice and to protect public interest in the case of Ezam's conviction.

Yap also called for the OSA to be repealed immediately and to enact a freedom of information act to ensure that citizens have the right to know.