Parti Keadilan Rakyat (Keadilan) Youth chief Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor said his acquittal from an Official Secrets Act (OSA) conviction has strengthened his resolve to battle corruption.

He said he will continue to highlight the corrupt practices of government ministers and officials, including those allegedly committed by International Trade Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz and former Melaka chief minister Abdul Rahim Tamby Chik .

"This will strengthen my resolve to fight the powers-that-be from shielding corrupt practices in this country," he said after Shah Alam High Court judge KN Segara allowed his appeal today.

Ezam was convicted under the OSA for leaking classified documents pertaining to an anti-corruption probe against Rafidah and Rahim. The duo were later cleared of any wrongdoing.

The Keadilan leader said the court's decision today proved that the fight to repeal oppressive laws like the OSA and Internal Security Act (ISA) had not been in vain.

"This is just the beginning of the real fight against archaic and oppressive laws. We will heighten our pressure on the government to annul such laws," he added.

Shielding the corrupt

Ezam said the judge's observation of Section16 (A) of the OSA as "obnoxious, archaic, draconian and oppressive" proved that Parliament was guilty of passing laws which shield corrupt practices.

He added that the ruling also proved he was unfairly treated by the Election Commission (EC).

"This proved that the EC had indeed jumped the gun when they said I lost my right to contest (in the election) due to my conviction.

"They should have allowed me to exhaust all legal avenues before making such an opinion," he added.

He was referring to an opinion expressed by the EC that Ezam and two other Keadilan leaders were disqualified from contesting in the recently concluded general election due to their criminal convictions.

Meanwhile, Keadilan president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail welcomed the High Court's decision to overturn the conviction.

However, she hoped that it would not divert the people's attention from the issue of corrupt practices by high officials.

"We must not forget that the decision does not deny the truthfulness of the report which referred to the corrupt acts of two ministers. The issue must not rest here," she said.