Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has slammed Australia for making a bad move in its bid to hide the names of high-ranking Asian government officials in a bribery case before courts in that country.
The PKR leader said such a ruling by the Australian court against the reporting of this case was bad governance, akin to hiding the truth and raised suspicion if it was aimed at protecting the interests of a powerful few.
No less than three generations of Malaysian prime ministers were named in the case, which alleges that several Securency and Note Printing Australia (NPA) agents had given millions of dollars in inducements to secure contracts to supply polymer banknotes to Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and other countries.
'It will serve to protect vested interests'
The Supreme Court of Victoria's “unprecedented” suppression order, dated June 19, was leaked on the anti-secrecy group Wikileaks’ website on July 29. However, the order can only apply to Australia.
“We fail to see how such a prohibition would advance the cause of good governance, aside from serving to protect certain vested interests.
“In this regard, the continued pursuance by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the gag order must be seen as condoning corruption in high places,” Anwar said in a press statement.
Apart from violating a fundamental principle of press freedom, the suppression order also runs counter to the practice of good governance, Anwar said.
This, he added, would involve transparency in dealings among public officials and accountability for their actions.
Both Australians and Malaysians have a legitimate right to all relevant facts and details on this case, Anwar said.
Malaysiakini has published the full list of 14 top Asian government and banking officials mentioned in the case in this article.
- See more at: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/270569#sthash.zZ3ltIWy.dpufThe PKR leader said such a ruling by the Australian court against the reporting of this case was bad governance, akin to hiding the truth and raised suspicion if it was aimed at protecting the interests of a powerful few.No less than three generations of Malaysian prime ministers were named in the case, which alleges that several Securency and Note Printing Australia (NPA) agents had given millions of dollars in inducements to secure contracts to supply polymer banknotes to Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and other countries.
'It will serve to protect vested interests'
The Supreme Court of Victoria's “unprecedented” suppression order, dated June 19, was leaked on the anti-secrecy group Wikileaks’ website on July 29. However, the order can only apply to Australia.
“We fail to see how such a prohibition would advance the cause of good governance, aside from serving to protect certain vested interests.
“In this regard, the continued pursuance by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the gag order must be seen as condoning corruption in high places,” Anwar said in a press statement.
Apart from violating a fundamental principle of press freedom, the suppression order also runs counter to the practice of good governance, Anwar said.
This, he added, would involve transparency in dealings among public officials and accountability for their actions.
Both Australians and Malaysians have a legitimate right to all relevant facts and details on this case, Anwar said.
Malaysiakini has published the full list of 14 top Asian government and banking officials mentioned in the case in this article.
No comments:
Post a Comment