Witness Protection Bill tabled

Provisions in the Witness Protection Bill tabled for first reading in Parliament have placed much of the decision-making powers in the hands of the attorney-general (AG) and the relevant minister.

A key proposal is that the actions and decisions of the main officials involved will not be subjected to judicial review.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz tabled the Bill this morning.

It proposes a programme for protection of witnesses, to be supervised by a director-general (DG) appointed by the relevant minister.

The DG will make recommendations for protection and other forms of assistance to a witness or others involved in the programme.

The recommendations will have to be approved by the AG. Should he reject these, the witness may appeal in writing to the minister within 14 days.

The grounds of both the AG’s decision and the DG’s recommendations will have to be submitted to the minister for consideration.

Section 10 and 16 of the Bill give the AG a significant level of power, including termination of privileges of a witness under the programme.

The DG and his or her officers are not obliged to disclose information or documents in their custody, whether before a court, tribunal, commission or panel of inquiry.

The Bill further states that the decision or action of the minister - alongside those of the DG and the AG - will be excluded from review by the courts.

This provisions also appear in many other legislations where the decision by the minister cannot be challeged.

Conditions for witnesses

The provisions allow for any individual to apply to the DG to be included in the programme.

Similarly, should an enforcement agency wants to apply (on behalf of the witness), it can do so with a written consent of the witness.

In cases where witnesses are below 18 years of age, the parents are required to make the application on their behalf.

Clause 8 compels applicants to disclose ‘certain matters’ like outstanding legal obligations, outstanding debt, tax status and whether or not they have a criminal record or have been implicated in any civil proceedings.

Applicants are also required to disclose if they are facing any legal restrictions against disclosing information.

Under Part 3 and clause 14 of the Bill, if the witness is found to be bound by such legal restrictions, the DG will have to deal with their cases according to the relevant laws.

“Where any participant (witness) has any outstanding rights or obligations or is subject to any restrictions, the DG shall take such steps as are reasonably practicable to ensure that those rights or obligations are dealt with according to the relevant law the participant complies with those restrictions,” reads the Bill.

Powers provided under the Police Act 1967 to the police to provide protection and assistance to a witness will not be reduced by the proposed legislation.

The Bill was initially proposed in 2000, but the first draft was circulated to government agencies and ministries for feedback only last year, before being presented for cabinet approval.

Interest in such legislation was revived last year over initial claims on the existence of the Lingam video-clip on judicial fixing.

Demands were made for immunity of the individuals who had recorded the footage. Later, however, they came forward to reveal their identity voluntarily.