The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) today called for discriminatory legislation like the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, Internal Security Act and Official Secrets Act to be repealed as they targeted independent and vocal critics of the government.

While welcoming the acquittal of activist Irene Fernandez, CIJ executive director, V Gayathry said the authorities should also protect whistle blowers in the interest of exposing wrongdoing.

"The government should have the Whistleblower Protection Act or have a Freedom of Information Act as genuine complaints and exposes are made in the interest of the public," she said in a statement today.

"The present acts affect not just the media but also individuals and non-governmental organisations who want to expose such issues. Irene’s disclosure of conditions in the detention camps is a human rights concern and should have been treated as a basis for investigations to be carried out."

irene fernandez 251108 She said CIJ was of the opinion that Fernandez should not have been charged in the first place for exposing the horrific conditions in detention centres.

"Fernandez was practicing her right under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution to freedom of speech. Instead, as a whistle blower, she was charged for maliciously publishing information.

Human rights defenders not protected

"This is one of the threats facing human rights defenders in Malaysia where they are subject to prosecution for exposing wrong doings or human rights violations," she said.

In 1995, Fernandez wrote an expos é of conditions in immigration detention centres, in a memorandum entitled ‘Abuse, Torture and Dehumanised Conditions of Migrant workers in Detention Centres'.

She was arrested and charged under Section 8A(1) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 a year later. Fernandez was sentenced to one-year’s jail in 2003 but filed an appeal against the sentence, which only resumed hearing this year after numerous postponements.

Gayathry added that the Fernandez case also reflected a poor judicial process with incidents of missing court documents and incomprehensible case notes.

She also pointed out that early last year, four opposition leaders from PAS, DAP and PKR were investigated under the Official Secrets Act for making public a toll concessionaire agreement to show how the government guaranteed profits for the company.