JMM lodges report on Muhyiddin for leaking govt secrets

Its president says inaction over the former DPM's breach of the Official Secrets Act can lead to other civil servants thinking it is permissible to do the same.

KUALA LUMPUR: A police report has been lodged against former Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, urging that he be investigated for breaching the Official Secrets Act (OSA).

Jaringan Melayu Malaysia (JMM) president Azwanddin Hamzah speaking to reporters after lodging the report at the Dang Wangi police headquarters here today, said Muhyiddin had on several occasions spoken about matters pertaining to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) that were considered government secrets.

“The OSA applies to all civil servants, even those who have either resigned or retired, as they had upon assuming their duties, taken an oath to protect any shred of confidential information they were exposed to.

“But Muhyiddin, at an event in Kijal, Terengganu, and during his Budget 2017 speech in Parliament, leaked confidential information related to 1MDB.”

He said inaction over Muhyiddin’s clear breach of the OSA could have severe repercussions because other civil servants would feel it was permissible for them to do the same.

“The Act was enforced to make sure all government secrets were protected.

“If we don’t take Muhyiddin’s offence seriously, it would have dangerous repercussions. This is especially so because with Facebook and other social media platforms, information is easily disseminated.

“That’s why we lodged this report, urging the police to take immediate action against him (Muhyiddin). And we will keep pushing for follow-ups,” Azwanddin said.

His report came in the wake of a warning issued by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia yesterday, to Muhyiddin and former second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah that revealing information they obtained in their capacity as Cabinet members was a breach of the secrecy oath they both undertook.

This, Pandikar cautioned, could also open them up to investigations under the OSA, or the Sedition Act.

The Speaker also cited Muhyiddin’s speech when debating Budget 2017, in which the latter claimed that while with the government, the Cabinet had wanted to approve a RM3 billion loan to 1MDB, which was later converted into a standby credit of RM950 million after he expressed his reservations about it.

“To me, what I heard, and read of (Muhyiddin’s remarks) is that the Cabinet’s decision was not carried out. That is secret information.

“We can’t tell these secrets to anyone. You can’t even whisper it to your wife at night,” said Pandikar.