Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan must halt the Official Secrets Act (OSA) investigations against several opposition politicians until receiving clear legal advice from the attorney-general that the Litrak concession agreement is protected by OSA.

Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang said this in response to investigations against PAS treasurer Dr Hatta Ramli, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) treasurer Khalid Ibrahim and information chief Tian Chua as well as DAP NGO bureau chief Ronnie Liu.

The four, who have been summoned to the Bukit Aman police headquarters on Monday, are being probed for exposing the agreement between the government and Litrak, which operates Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong.

A police report was lodged on the matter by Gabungan Pemimpin Mahasiswa Malaysia and Jaringan Pelajar Islam Se-Malaysia.

In a statement today, Lim said there are two major reasons why the police should not be 'trigger-happy' to launch the probe.

"Firstly, undermining and even destroying the pledge of open, accountable, transparent and good governance which was the clarion pledge of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi when he became the fifth prime minister...

"Secondly, to demonstrate that the police upholds the rule of law and has learnt the lessons from the Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor OSA case, where Shah Alam High Court Judge KN Segara in April 2004 quashed Ezam's conviction and two-year jail sentence by the Sessions Court..," he added.

'Fishing trip'

In that particular case, Lim quoted Segara as saying: "It was incumbent upon the prosecution to establish that the alleged documents divulged by Ezam were genuinely classified by an authorised government official as stated in section 2 of the OSA.

"Instead of calling witnesses to prove the important requirement, the prosecution chose to solely rely on the certificate issued under Section 16(A) of OSA by the then attorney-general, the late Mohtar Abdullah on Aug 24, 2000 in proving that the reports were genuinely classified as official secrets. Section 16(A) stipulates that the certificate by an authorised government official that an official document is an official secret "shall be conclusive evidence and shall not be questioned in any court on any grounds whatsoever."

Lim said Segara found Section 16(A) to be "meaningless, obnoxious, draconian and oppressive - void and inconsistent to Section 2 of the Act in the interpretation of official secrets".

The judge said Section 16(A) cannot exempt the prosecution's burden to prove that the classification of any document as official secret was done in a proper manner as stated in the Act, he added.

In view of this, Lim said the first question that must be resolved is whether the Litrak concession agreement is an "official secret" under the OSA and when and how it became an "official secret'.

He said the only authority the police can rely on this matter is the AG, and this is why the police must not initiate any OSA investigations in relation to any police report unless it has received advice from the AG that the document impugned was in fact an official secret to fall under the OSA.

"Has the police received such advice from the AG that the Litrak LDP concession is not only an official document but an official secret under OSA?"

"Can the police launch investigations and go on a "fishing trip" to harass and intimidate opposition leaders and social activists just because of a police report under the OSA, regardless of the document referred to is an official secret or not?" he asked.

'Politically motivated'

In a related development, Tenaganita director Irene Fernandez claimed that the rapid response from the police to question the political leaders 'comes as no surprise since it is politically motivated'.

"Once again, the prime minister has shown that his words are mere rhetoric. The nation believed that there will be reforms and fighting corruption is the main agenda.

"How can corruption be wiped out or even seen to be addressed when the government cannot be honest with the people?" she said in a statement.

Fernandez said it is the fundamental right of every consumer to correct information and this right cannot be denied to the people who use the highways.

"We call upon the IGP to stop using the police report made by the two NGOs to question the three leaders. It is indeed a waste of public money. The time could be used for addressing the rising crime in the country.

"The police cannot become a tool for suppressing relevant information that will help to fight corruption and relieve the people from the burden of increased toll payments," she added.