Three former Ministers to be probed for breaching oath of secrecy

Police are to take statements from three former Cabinet ministers for remarks in which they are alleged to have divulged confidential government information about 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

The three are former deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, former regional development minister Mohd Shafie Apdal, and former second finance minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah.

They had made critical remarks about 1MDB in the Dewan Rakyat, following which the Speaker had said they might have breached their oath of secrecy.

Police reports were also lodged by two groups, Jaringan Melayu Malaysia and Sahabat N87 Federal Territory branch.

The Inspector-General of Police, Khalid Abu Bakar, said today: “We have opened the investigation paper and we will call them in for questioning as soon as possible. Hopefully by tomorrow or the day after”, the New Straits Times reported.

Khalid was quoted as saying: “I would like to remind government staff, either those who are still working or have left the service, to be very careful and responsible when making statements because if they disclose government secrets, action will be taken (against them).

“When it involves government secrets, we have to be careful because there are many implications because, when government secrets are disclosed, it could threaten national security and the economy.”

Muhyiddin was said to have revealed classified information on government-owned 1MDB while speaking at the Budget debate in the Dewan Rakyat. The report said the information had been made available to him while he still held the post of deputy prime minister.

Muhyiddin was dropped from the Cabinet in July last year after being critical of Prime Minister Najib Razak’s handling of 1MDB’s affairs, and expelled from Umno earlier this year. He is now pro-tem president of the new Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia.

The report said that Shafie had also questioned several government decisions on 1MDB, while Husni had said the country could still face economic repercussions if the 1MDB issue was not properly handled.

Source -FMT-