'Sedition Act will make fighting corruption harder'
Published: Dec 1, 2014 2:13 PM | Updated: Dec 1, 2014 11:01 PM
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's decision to maintain the Sedition Act will make combating corruption, fraud and abuse of power much more difficult.
This was claimed by anti corruption watchdog National Oversight and Whistleblowers (Now) in a statement today.
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's decision to maintain the Sedition Act will make combating corruption, fraud and abuse of power much more difficult, said an NGO.
"His (Najib's) statement that the use of the Act will be strengthened and intensified will not only restrict freedom of expression, but also the distribution and dissemination of information particularly on corruption and abuse of power," said anti-corruption watchdog National Oversight and Whistleblowers (Now).
In a statement today, its director Akmal Nasir added that with the strengthening of the Act, those in power can abuse their position by claiming sedition against those bringing up issues of corruption and fraud.
He then cited an example - the centre's executive director, Rafizi Ramli, was investigated under the Sedition Act in July for revealing a document implicating a minister's intervention and abuse of power in the affairs of Bank Rakyat's administration.
The document revealed as a letter, purportedly from Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Hasan Malek to a high-ranking bank officer to give businessman Deepak Jaikishan, a man allegedly close to Najib, special treatment.
The letter urged Bank Rakyat to postpone any legal action taken towards the businessman and for the RM32 million interest free loan it gave to be settled through a monthly payment of RM270,000 for a maximum of 10 years.
However, a day after Rafizi’s statement, Hasan countered it by saying that Deepak’s loan was lawfully done and that it was part of a debt restructuring scheme.
The RM32 million debt was classified as a non-performing loan, and as such, Hasan said, the bank’s management has the responsibility to shareholders to get back as much of the remaining debt as possible to avoid loss.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), in a statement a couple of months before Rafizi’s exposé, had said that there are no elements of corruption in the loan given, and initial investigations found it was more of a bank governance issue.
'Implementation will only expose whistleblowers'
"History has proven that the implementation of the Act will only expose whistleblowers to the abuse of legal action by the government, and hamper efforts of fight corruption," Akmal argued.
Akmal, mirroring the Bar Council’s stance, illustrated that the decision to retain the Act in order “to maintain peace and harmony” is inapplicable as punishment is often used to strengthen the government’s powers to deny democratic rights through repression and punishment.
He added that legal action taken against those who criticise or express opinions on the grounds of incitement can certainly be abused by those in positions of power.
“It will scare people and prevent whistleblowers from coming forward to provide information in order to protect the public interest and national wealth,” he added.
“If the government is really serious about fighting corruption and creating a transparent administration, they must be daring enough to provide the citizen space to give opinions to assess the progress of the country, and voice criticisms in the events of fraud or leakages,” he pointed out.
The NGO, he said, urges Najib to honour his promise to abolish the Sedition Act.
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"His (Najib's) statement that the use of the Act will be strengthened and intensified will not only restrict freedom of expression, but also the distribution and dissemination of information particularly on corruption and abuse of power," said anti-corruption watchdog National Oversight and Whistleblowers (Now).
In a statement today, its director Akmal Nasir added that with the strengthening of the Act, those in power can abuse their position by claiming sedition against those bringing up issues of corruption and fraud.
He then cited an example - the centre's executive director, Rafizi Ramli, was investigated under the Sedition Act in July for revealing a document implicating a minister's intervention and abuse of power in the affairs of Bank Rakyat's administration.
The document revealed as a letter, purportedly from Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Hasan Malek to a high-ranking bank officer to give businessman Deepak Jaikishan, a man allegedly close to Najib, special treatment.
The letter urged Bank Rakyat to postpone any legal action taken towards the businessman and for the RM32 million interest free loan it gave to be settled through a monthly payment of RM270,000 for a maximum of 10 years.
However, a day after Rafizi’s statement, Hasan countered it by saying that Deepak’s loan was lawfully done and that it was part of a debt restructuring scheme.
The RM32 million debt was classified as a non-performing loan, and as such, Hasan said, the bank’s management has the responsibility to shareholders to get back as much of the remaining debt as possible to avoid loss.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), in a statement a couple of months before Rafizi’s exposé, had said that there are no elements of corruption in the loan given, and initial investigations found it was more of a bank governance issue.
'Implementation will only expose whistleblowers'
"History has proven that the implementation of the Act will only expose whistleblowers to the abuse of legal action by the government, and hamper efforts of fight corruption," Akmal argued.
Akmal, mirroring the Bar Council’s stance, illustrated that the decision to retain the Act in order “to maintain peace and harmony” is inapplicable as punishment is often used to strengthen the government’s powers to deny democratic rights through repression and punishment.
He added that legal action taken against those who criticise or express opinions on the grounds of incitement can certainly be abused by those in positions of power.
“It will scare people and prevent whistleblowers from coming forward to provide information in order to protect the public interest and national wealth,” he added.
“If the government is really serious about fighting corruption and creating a transparent administration, they must be daring enough to provide the citizen space to give opinions to assess the progress of the country, and voice criticisms in the events of fraud or leakages,” he pointed out.
The NGO, he said, urges Najib to honour his promise to abolish the Sedition Act.
Related stories
It’s about Sedition Act selectively used, stupid
DAP: MCA, Gerakan obedient on Sedition Act
Social media users focus of Sedition Act change
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