Putrajaya seems to place more emphasis on tracking down responsible for leaking information than on finding out whether Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has committed any wrongdoing with regards to 1MDB funds.
This observation was noted by rights group Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) who said in a statement they were 'appalled' by the phenomenon.
While acknowledging the importance of banking confidentiality, LFL executive director Eric Paulsen said the investigation by the authorities into 1MDB was in public interest to determine possible embezzlement.
"It should be noted that as such, whistleblowing to the press to expose high-level government-linked corrupt practices and wrongdoing is a clear symptom of distrust (of the system)," he said.
This because, such whistleblowers did not trust the authorities enough to be able to do the right thing, he said.
Or worse, they may perceive the authority would play down the issue rather than commence a thorough investigation, he said.
"It is misleading and disingenuous to assert banking confidentiality in such a case as clearly, such a privilege does not apply to criminal investigations.
"How else would corruption, criminal breach of trust, money laundering or tax evasion be exposed if not through banking details?
Paulsen ( photo ) was referring to The Wall Street Journal report which claimed that RM2.6 billion of 1MDB's funds was chanelled into Najib's private bank accounts.
Shooting the messenger
Last Saturday, Malaysia Today blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin alleged that three Bank Negara senior officers were under investigation by the authorities following an alleged leak of 'sensitive information’ to the Wall Street Journal .
However, the central bank denied this a day after the blogger's claim.
Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar then stepped in to say that all parties will be investigated over the claim that senior Bank Negara officer had leaked confidential information.
"Such investigations, unfortunately, lend further credence that law enforcement authorities remain highly-politicised and selective as the disclosure has exposed serious criminal offences which should override any confidentiality provisions," he said.
Investigating the whistleblowers is clearly misconceived, a case of shooting the messenger just because the news is bad, he noted.
"We call on the authorities to cease investigations into the whistleblowers, and more importantly, to bring to justice the perpetrators of the massive 1MDB scandal," he said.
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