In latest law tweak, jail time for officers who expose government secrets
(MM) – In yet another move likely to rile civil rights activists and lawmakers here, Putrajaya is expected to table an amendment Bill this week seeking jail term for officers who disclose government information to the public.
PKR lawmaker N. Surendran called today for Putrajaya to stop its plan to table the amendment, which will introduce the brand new Section 203A to the Penal Code, saying it would only create a law even more restrictive than the Officil Secrets Act (OSA) 1972.
“This provision is unprecedented in any modern democracy; and is more suited to one-party states such as North Korea.
“With this provision, the BN is dragging Malaysia further into the dark ages. Why does the BN government need such a stifling and undemocratic law? What do they want to hide from the public?” the Padang Serai MP was quoted as saying in a report on Malaysiakini.
The first-term parliamentarian pointed out that unlike the OSA, which views only certain information classified by the minister or his agents as secret, Section 203A sees everything as restricted information.
“This provision is clearly intended to prevent the public from obtaining information that can expose corruption, financial scandals and mismanagement by the BN government,” he said.
The federal opposition have long campaigned against the OSA, which they argue have been abused by the Barisan Nasional (BN) leadership to hide excesses and mismanagement in the government.
Lawmakers from Pakatan Rakyat (PR) have often been accused of running afoul of the controversial OSA when exposing alleged government wrongdoing in the media but they insist that such information should be made accessible to all parties.
Two PR states — Selangor and Penang — have even passed Freedom of Information enactments to prove their transparency and support for free access to information, allowing members of the public to request any information from the state that do not fall under the jurisdiction of restrictions under federal law.
