KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 ― In light of the recent arrest of former PetroSaudi International Ltd executive Xavier Andre Justo, Gerakan has cautioned the public that data theft will not be tolerated.
Gerakan vice-president Datuk Dr Dominic Lau Hoe Chai said in this case, the abuse of unverified information by whistleblower sites or politicians in hurling accusations was wrong, unfair and went against public interest.
“I believe distorted facts and information used by whistleblower sites must now undergo stringent verification on its credibility,” he said in a statement.
He added that detractors should apologise and immediately retract their baseless accusations against the government and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
On Monday, Justo, a Swiss national was arrested in Thailand for allegedly leaking information related to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). “I believe truthful information is essential to serving public interest. The unlawful manner in acquiring and tampering of information raises serious legal and ethical questions,” Lau said.
Justo was charged with attempted blackmail and extortion against his former employer, in relation to proprietary email information belonging to PetroSaudi with initial probes showing that some leaked email were tampered.
PetroSaudi, an international oil and gas industry company based in Saudi Arabia attracted attention in Malaysia, following its previous cooperation with 1MDB. ― Bernama
