PUTRAJAYA has been urged to reform laws to protect whistle-blowers, following the jailing of PKR’s Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli for 30 months, for leaking banking information.

PAKATAN Harapan deputy president Lim Guan Eng today said although the government had created legislation to protect whistle-blowers, it continued to use other laws to punish them.

He said Rafizi was still prosecuted and imprisoned even though he had exposed the RM250 million National Feedlot Corporation Sdn Bhd (NFC) scandal.

“I want to criticise the Barisan Nasional government’s decision to charge Rafizi. They had previously said whistle-blowers would not face action.

“The protection of whistle-blowers is provided for under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act, but they are still using older laws to take action against them (whistle-blowers).

“The laws are not updated. If they want to protect whistle-blowers, the laws must be amended. There must be a reform of the legislation,” he told a press conference at Komtar.

On Wednesday, Rafizi and former Public Bank clerk Johari Mohamad were both sentenced to 30 months’ jail for breaching the Banking and Financial Institutions Act, in relation to the NFC accounts leak.

The leak led to Rafizi exposing the multi-million-ringgit scandal in 2011, which involved the national cattle-farm breeder’s purchases of luxury condominium units.

NFC was owned by Mohamad Salleh Ismail, the husband of Wanita Umno head Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.

The scandal is now known to most Malaysians as the “cows and condos scandal”.

Lim, who is also Penang chief minister, said the federal government should not offer only lip service by saying whistle-blowers would be given protection.

He said if there were concerns about false information being used to prosecute others, there were legal avenues to address the matter.

“Take civil action, like filing a defamation suit. You don’t need to use criminal law.”

The DAP secretary-general said the opposition often faced double standards when it came to the law.

“When we face false accusations, insults and threats, there will be no action.”

He said the opposition stood in solidarity with Rafizi, who is appealing against his sentence and unable to contest in the 14th general election.

Lim also voiced support for DAP’s Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua, who is fighting numerous court cases. – February 10, 2018.