Zam: AG’s plan to jail journalists for life shocking

Any amendments to the Official Secrets Act (OSA), as proposed by Apandi Ali, will invite interference in the country's internal affairs and laws by the international community.

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin has expressed his hope that Attorney-General Mohd Apandi Ali was not really planning to jail journalists for life, and give them 10 strokes of the rotan. “It has been reported that Apandi Ali wants to amend the Official Secrets Act 1972 (OSA) to provide for these stiff punishments for journalists who refuse to disclose their sources on official secrets allegedly leaked to them.”

“In that case, the journalists would be considered as being party to an illegality by reporting the leaked secrets,” Zainuddin was quoted as saying in Sinar Harian, a Malay news portal.

If the report was true, said Zainuddin who was also a former Editor in Chief of Utusan Malaysia, it was not only “shocking” but would cast the nation in further negative light. “The proposed amendments to the OSA will stunt the Najib Government and compromise democracy in the country.”

“The amendments will hurt the Najib Government’s image in the eyes of the world.”

Zainuddin, who blogs as Zamkata, said that he was in fact also against leaking official secrets and had spoken up on the matter when the Opposition was involved. “However, amending the OSA to provide for life in jail for journalists was not the way to deal with such leaks.”

He was commenting on Apandi Ali reportedly telling the Sin Chew Daily on Sunday that he “was not joking” when he threatened to jail journalists, and cane them, if they refused to disclose their sources.

“The outside world will criticise and condemn Malaysia as a country that suppresses the people,” said Zanuddin in reference to the proposed amendments. “Any amendments to the OSA, as proposed by Apandi Ali, will invite interference in the country’s internal affairs and laws by the international community.”

“The AG’s proposals are not useful at all for the Najib administration.”

On a separate but related matter, Zainuddin noted that Apandi Ali had also made reference to China as an example which could be applied to Malaysia. “In China, said Apandi Ali, those who leaked official secrets were put to death.”

“Do we want to become a country like China in passing laws? What happens to democracy in Malaysia? Do we follow China, be like the democracies in the west or end up like the Arab countries when we have our own model?”

The journalists that the AG was planning on sending to jail, argued Zainuddin, were only doing their work. “They are merely carrying statements issued by others.”

“They do qualify their reports by using terms like ‘alleged’ and others.”