KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 — Malay rights group Perkasa today questioned the Attorney-General's motive in wanting to increase penalties for leaking official secrets, saying that attempts to conceal the administration's abuses would endanger national security rather than protect it.

Although conceding to the need to safeguard national secrets, Perkasa said there was “something suspicious” in the proposal to introduce life imprisonment for those leaking official documents and the media personnel who report these.

“How is exposing information on tender problems and business that do not follow the rules, corruption, embezzlement, fraud and others, a matter of national security?” Perkasa information chief Hassan Basri Mohammad said in a statement today.

Rather than for protecting national security, he said the proposal appeared to be motivated by concern over the public's dissatisfaction over the abuses exposed by the leaks that the amendments are designed to stem.

The Attorney-General should also enhance the legal protections available to those who expose wrongdoings in the government, he said, as doing so would both promote good governance as well as increase the public's faith in the administration.

“Perkasa sees and expresses concern that a far greater national security issue may occur when the public rise up and revolt in dissatisfaction when there are attempts to conceal and protect information on embezzlement via the amendment to the Official Secrets Act,” he said.

The group also echoed concerns by press groups critical of the proposed amendments, and concurred that the move was an attempt to intimidate the media into not reporting wrongdoings in the administration.

On Saturday, Tan Sri Mohd Apandi Ali was reported saying that he will consider seeking an increase to the penalties available, including raising the sentences to life imprisonment and 10 strokes of the cane.

In a report by a Chinese daily, Apandi said the proposed amendments to the OSA will also include journalists who refuse to identify the sources of the leaked information.

The AG also said that there is no right to information according to the Federal Constitution.