INTERVIEW | The Official Secrets Act 1972 (OSA) allows the government to classify any document as secret and jail those who release such information for up to seven years.

The law has long been considered a tool to enable the government to keep its affairs opaque – or worse, to cover up its scandals.

In an interview with Malaysiakini, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad concurred that the OSA was previously abused, but believes that the law should still stay.

Perhaps the most egregious use of the OSA was the previous BN administration classifying the auditor-general's report on the 1MDB scandal as secret, and sentencing PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli to 18 months' jail for releasing part of the report...