Pokok Sena MP Mahfuz Omar today urged the government to differentiate between documents that could compromise national security and the ones with risk of compromising its own position.

“I would like to ask the Umno-BN government and Prime Minister Najib (Abdul Razak): why are they so afraid of leaks in so-called ‘secret’ government documents?

“What are they trying to hide from the rakyat? What exactly are the things that the rakyat should not know from the documents kept in secret?” asked Mahfuz in response to attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali’s reported proposal to strengthen the Official Secrets Act 1972 (OSA).

In a statement, Mahfuz noted that the government is still trapped in the old paradigm, where losing control over leaks of government "secrets" could lead to the international community losing confidence in Malaysia’s management of the country’s finances and overall economy.

He also claimed that the government was actually attempting to cover up "secrets" in OSA documents that could expose its alleged involvements in graft, corruption and financial mismanagements.

“(The government) must differentiate between official documents on national security and defence that must be kept secret - such as logistics, strategic defence plans and other related matters.

“(However,) documents on any procurement of security and defence assets that open up a possibility of corruption - such as the purchase of submarines, or documents related to contracts to build military bases, police stations and others - must be released from the OSA,” he said.

Mahfuz cited the recent leak of a warning letter from Bank Negara to Tabung Haji on its negative reserves, as a document which should not be regarded as an official secret.

“This should not be seen as a leak, but rather so that the rakyat can play a check-and-balance role and ensure that administration of the country’s economy and finances is done in a more transparent manner,” he said.

Apandi’s reported proposal to introduce a life sentence and 10 strokes of the rotan for those who leak state secrets and journalists who report them, had triggered an outcry from various quarters - including media groups, rights groups and even Malay rights NGO Perkasa .