The government has maintained its defence of the Official Secrets Act (OSA), described by Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah as a stumbling block in the battle against corruption.

De facto law minister Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz said Razaleigh's view that the OSA is hampering Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's pledge to combat corruption and abuse of power is "not true at all".

"The Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) is empowered to look into documents even though these have been classified (secret) under the OSA," said Nazri in his reply to Razaleigh (BN-Gua Musang) during the Question session in the Dewan Rakyat this morning.

Nazri, who is Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, also said the ACA could initiate investigations into poison-pen letters which contain allegations of corruption.

In an interview with malaysiakini last month, Razaleigh had called for the abolition of the OSA, saying this was a prerequisite in fighting corruption.

The OSA has constantly been criticised as draconian by rights-based groups which have demanded its abolition.

In 2002, opposition politician Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor was jailed for breach of the OSA after exposing ACA reports on two high-profile figures. He was freed two years later after a high court quashed the conviction and sentence.

World Bank index

In a supplementary question, Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timor) questioned the need for the Act.

He noted that Malaysia's ranking in the World Bank's 'Worldwide Governance Indicators 2006' has drastically dropped in the past 10 years. He attributed this to the lack of freedom of information.

Lim asked whether this would lead to the premier losing further control of the administration, but this drew immediate response from backbencher Bung Moktar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan), who called this a "wild allegation".

Nazri replied that the government has taken note of the ranking and would make improvements, but reiterated that the OSA is still needed.

"We need to maintain the OSA to discharge the government's responsibilities without any obstacles," he argued, also saying that Lim's claim about the prime minister was inaccurate.

"Now that we are given more freedom to speak, it doesn't mean (the premier) is losing control. If you (Lim) think we should revert to the previous leadership style, why not suggest it to the House?"

During last week's debate in the Dewan Rakyat, vocal backbencher Zaid Ibrahim (BN-Kota Baru) said Abdullah has failed to initiate reforms even after holding the premier's post for three years.

Abdullah, who is currently in Cuba, responded that he is 'in control' of the government.