So what difference is this going to make? Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli’s not the first to get arrested, right? Well, let’s start from the beginning.
What is the Official Secrets Act (OSA)?
The short answer is that it’s a law meant to keep government secrets hush hush.
But what secrets are ‘official’?
According to the OSA, any minister, menteri besar or chief minister can label things like documents, photos, maps or videos as ‘top secret’ or ‘classified’ and presto, it’s official’.
They can also empower civil servants to make things secret for them.
So they can just make anything secret willy nilly?
Yes.
Can you make make a secret not secret?
Yes. Those empowered to make things secret can also declassify documents.
There's no other way?
Not unless you want to go to jail.
But what about Freedom of Information?
Currently only Penang and Selangor have Freedom of Information (FOI) Acts.
However your request for state documents may still be rejected.
Sigh, fine. So how do I stay out of jail?
That’s pretty simple. You just need to not have seen, photographed, or received any thing that is labelled as a secret. Normally government documents will have the word ‘Rahsia’ on it.
If you’ve got clearance to know hush-hush information, just keep it yourself.
It’s okay if you get the secret documents by mistake though.
Otherwise it’s between one to seven years in jail for you.
So how does Rafizi’s arrest change things?
Rafizi isn’t the first person to get arrested under the OSA, and if found guilty, won’t be the first to be jailed either.
Former PKR Youth chief Ezam Mohd Nor was jailed two years for leaking documents in relation to a graft probe on former Malacca chief minister Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik and former international trade and industry minister Rafidah Aziz in 2002.
However the difference between then and now, is that there are currently plans to strengthen the OSA.
Attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali has suggested that punishment under the Act be strengthened to include life imprisonment and whipping, including for journalist who refuse to give up the source of their leaked information.
The government says it has yet to discuss this proposal, but with Rafizi’s case, they might use it as a pretext to fast track the amendments and stop any further leaks that can harm Putrajaya from happening.
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