Government confirms leaked document on PKFZ as official

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider

The government lodged a police report recently about leaked Cabinet documents on the on-going Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal.

In a written reply to Klang MP Charles Santiago, the home affairs minister stated that the police report was made by the Finance Ministry on Sept 16, 2009, and that the case was still being investigated by the police.

The case has been classified under section 8 of the Official Secrets Act (OSA) where a person can be charged with divulging official government secrets in a wrong manner.

“The government will not hesitate to take strict action against any party which leaks out official government secrets either through government agencies or other means, based on the legal provisions at hand.”

A thorough criminal investigation is under way to determine the source of the leaked document, whether it was a techical glitch, carelessness or a “hidden culprit.”

In lodging a police report, the government is conceding the fact frequently stated by Pakatan Rakyat that the leaked documents are indeed official Cabinet papers on the PKFZ issue.

The government has also announced that it has appointed a special task force led by its Chief Secretary to look into the Auditor-General’s report on the PKFZ.

The leaked Cabinet documents originally surfaced on the online web portal Malaysia Today some months back.

The contents are said to suggest that the Cabinet had been aware of the financial losses faced by PKFZ for some time, and no follow-up action had been taken to remedy the situation.