The Star
Monday May 19, 2008
Call to order withdrawal of report against press
KOTA KINABALU: The Prime Minister should order the withdrawal of a police report made against several newspapers for publishing the Royal Commission of Inquiry report on the V.K. Lingam video clip before it was made public.
DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang said the Government’s police report over alleged contravention of the Official Secrets Act by the media was incorrect.
The Act could only be used if any leaked government confidential information had threatened national security, he said.
Lim said the contents of the Royal Commission of Inquiry findings into the video clip was of public interest.
He noted that in other countries, royal commission reports were immediately made public.
He also said the Cabinet’s decision in instructing the Attorney-General’s Chambers to investigate the various individuals named in the commission’s report was insufficient.
For more than 20 years, the Attorney-General’s Chambers had failed to defend the impartiality of the judiciary and “nobody expects the AG to play a rightful role in the aftermath of the Lingam report,” he said.