KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 — A member of Malay rights group Perkasa today applied to challenge the government’s decision to use the Official Secrets Act (OSA) on the federal audit report of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
According to Perkasa supreme council member Muhammad Zahid Md Arip, his application for a judicial review was to make the Auditor-General’s report freely accessible to the public.
“The people need to know what the report is all about and I, as a Perkasa and also an Umno member, feel cheated when the document is put under the OSA,” he told a news conference at the lobby of the High Court here.
Muhammad Zahid named Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Auditor-General Tan Sri Ambrin Buang and the government of Malaysia as respondents in his application.
Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla, the lawyer representing Muhammad Zahid, said his client was also seeking for the report to be resubmitted to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for subsequent presentation in Parliament.
In the application, Muhammad Zahid cited Article 107 (1) of the Federal Constitution that states that a report from the A-G must be submitted to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong after it is debated in the Parliament and subsequently made public.
"The declaration by these respondents to classify this report under the secrecy law and to declare the report under OSA after debating about it in the Parliament on April 7 this year is against the Federal Constitution," Mohamed Haniff said.
Ambrin's report was classified ahead of its submission to the PAC and was initially expected to be declassified once the parliamentary watchdog's final report was tabled in Parliament.
After the PAC submitted its report in April, however, Ambrin confirmed that his document would remain classified.
PKR MP Rafizi Ramli was also charged under the OSA with allegedly leaking portions of the audit report.
