The day whistleblower Ezam was jailed for two years
I have been arrested many times, and sued even more times, plus got declared bankrupt, for doing my duty to God, King and Country by acting as a whistleblower to expose corruption in the corridors of power.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Around 22-23 years ago, I attended a press conference called by PKR Youth Chief Ezam Mohd Nor at the party headquarters. Ezam was acting as a so-called whistleblower to expose crimes committed by government leaders.
Ezam was then arrested and charged under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) for exposing these crimes. In 2002, Ezam was found guilty and sentenced to a two-year jail sentence in the Kajang Prison.
In fact, at that time Ezam was already being detained without trial in the Kamunting Detention Centre. Hence, they just transferred him from Kamunting, Perak, to Kajang, Selangor, to compete his two-year sentence.
Ezam appealed the conviction but lost. The fact Ezam was acting as a whistleblower to expose crimes committed by government leaders did not save him from jail. This is because Ezam had held a press conference and had publicly exposed the crimes. That disqualified Ezam from being classified as a whistleblower.
When I acted as a whistleblower six years later in June 2008, I made sure that I signed a ‘secret’ Statutory Declaration and sent it to the police for the attention of the investigating officer of the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder. That would keep me safe from any police action.
However, the police gave a copy of that SD to an Umno blogger, Big Dog, and told him to publish it. That gave the police grounds to arrest and charge me for the crime of criminal defamation. If not, the police would not be able to touch me. They had to first make that SD public to get me.
So, be careful of the anti-government propaganda. They are misleading Malaysians as to what constitutes a whistleblower and as to what whistleblowers can and cannot do. Just because you accuse someone of misconduct does not automatically offer you protection as a whistleblower. There are certain syarat you need to comply with, or else the whistleblower will end up in jail instead, or will get sued.
And did Lim Guan Eng not sue me (and win) even though what I published are facts backed by documents (and which the MACC confirmed are authentic), and even though I was merely doing my duty as a whistleblower to expose corruption?
I have been arrested many times, and sued even more times, plus got declared bankrupt, for doing my duty to God, King and Country by acting as a whistleblower to expose corruption in the corridors of power.
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Ezam slapped with two-year jail term for violating OSA
(Malaysiakini, 6 August 2002) – Keadilan Youth chief Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor was sentenced to two years’ jail by the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court today after being found guilty of committing an offence under the Official Secrets Act.
Sessions court judge Wan Afrah Wan Ismail said the punishment meted out was appropriate and in the interest of the public.
She added that Ezam’s defence team, comprising Zainur Zakari and Raja Aziz Addrusse, failed to prove that the accused did not contravene the OSA.
“After hearing the evidence of the accused and the witnesses and the submission by the two parties the court finds that the accused failed to show reasonable doubt in his charges.
“The accused in his defence admitted to having a press conference on Nov 6, 1999 to expose the corruption and abuse of power by International Trade and Industry minister Rafidah Aziz and former Melaka chief minister Rahim Thamby Chik and he knew and was sure that those documents were official secrets but still took the risk,” said the judge.
Ezam was charged under Section 8(1) of the OSA and carries a mandatory jail sentence of not less than one year and not more than seven. He is to serve the two-year sentence at the Kajang prison.
The Keadilan leader, who is currently undergoing a two-year Internal Security Act detention at the Kamunting Detention Centre in Perak, remained calm when the sentence was read out.
Ezam and five others were detained under the security law last year for allegedly planning to overthrow the government through militant means, a charge which they have denied.
Speaking to reporters later, the deputy public prosecutor Vong Poh Fah said Ezam will be sent to the Kajang prison to serve his sentence.
“As for his detention under the ISA in Kamunting, we are still awaiting instructions from the Home Ministry,” said Vong.
At the end of the trial, Ezam was allowed to meet his family for an hour before being taken away. His children, Tihani, 9, Mohd Hasif, 5 and Mohd Haris, 4, held placards which read, “Our father is a hero and we love you”. (READ MORE HERE)
