'Replace OSA with new law'

The New Straits Times
by Lydia Gomez

KUALA LUMPUR: The Official Secrets Act (OSA) should be reviewed and replaced by a more balanced law to protect government secrets and the people's right to information.

National Union of Journalists general secretary V. Anbalagan said the union was firm in its view that the mandatory jail term in the act should be replaced with only a fine.

He said the OSA was an obsolete law that prevented journalists from performing their duties on matters of public interest.

"This act carries a jail term and journalists are supposed to report on matters of public interest. 

"The definition of an official secret is also vague and subjective." 

Anbalagan said certain classified information about the country and its leaders was already exposed through whistleblower sites like WikiLeaks.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak recently announced that the Internal Security Act would be abolished and two new laws would be introduced to safeguard peace and order. 

He also said the government would repeal the Banishment Act 1959, while a comprehensive study would be carried out on the Restricted Residence Act 1993 and the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 where annual renewals would be done away with, and replaced with the issuance of licence until it was revoked.

Former New Straits Times journalist Sabry Sharif, the first local journalist to be convicted under the OSA in 1985 for a news report on alleged irregularities in a defence contract awarded by the Royal Malaysian Air Force, said the use of the OSA would only victimise journalists.

Sabry, 53, who had served the NST between 1981 and 1998, said the law did not recognise the need for journalists to seek the truth.

"I think all journalists should ask for the OSA to be reviewed if the government wants to curb abuse and if they are advocating transparency in government.

"The review of laws should be done in a holistic manner.

"I think editors and journalists should be allowed to do their jobs without fear," he said.

Centre for Independent Journalism programme officer Chuah Siew Eng said the OSA prevented journalists from fulfilling three important journalistic principles: their obligation to tell the truth, their loyalty to citizens in matters of public interest and their role as an independent monitor of the ruling power.

"The wide powers given to the executive in classifying any information as secret, even beyond the reach of judicial scrutiny, makes the law open to abuse. 

"It has no place in the best democracy that the prime minister envisions for Malaysia.

"It should instead be replaced by another law to allow the right to information, which would balance the need to protect government secrets and the people's right to information.

"And by encouraging a culture of transparency and openness in public bodies, it will serve as a first check against corruption and abuse of power," she said.