Mahathir’s confusion regarding the OSA
Salleh Said Keruak
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad appears confused regarding the Official Secrets Act (OSA). “I believe (the OSA) is to punish those who leak Government administrative documents on policies, cabinet papers and taxation,” Mahathir said. “They are for preventing the information from being made use of by individuals, companies or foreign Governments to their advantage.”
Mahathir added, “They are not meant for keeping secret the crimes committed by officers, employees or individuals. Such crimes must be reported or exposed by whoever comes across them. Criminal proceedings should follow.”
First of all, we need to understand the issue of what a whistleblower is and the rights of a whistleblower under the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA) 2010. The WPA says that whistleblowers can provide evidence if it is legally available through the course of their work. The catch phrase here is ‘legally available through the course of their work.’ That does not cover data or document theft or information illegally procured.
This is a very crucial aspect of the WPA that Mahathir either does not understand or he is not telling us. In short, you cannot fight crime by committing a crime. It is as simple as that.
Next, any document or file stamped RAHSIA comes under the protection of the OSA. As the late Raja Aziz Addrusse sarcastically said in court back in 2002 in the Ezam Mohd Nor case, even if toilet paper was stamped RAHSIA then anyone who is in possession of that toiler paper has committed a crime and can be sent to jail.
