Police were ‘within their rights’ to arrest opposition Malaysian MP

KUALA LUMPUR — The Malaysian police had acted within their rights when they arrested an opposition lawmaker outside the Malaysian Parliament compound earlier this week for the alleged wrongful communication of classified documents under the Official Secrets Act (OSA), the country’s Speaker of Parliament Pandikar Amin Mulia said in his ruling yesterday.

“The special rights and privileges is not absolute and are still subjected to the other available laws … It is a known fact that the OSA itself is an Act approved by the Parliament,” said Mr Pandikar in a statement, pointing out parliamentary privilege does not allow a lawmaker to commit offences.

Mr Pandikar’s statement echoed comments earlier yesterday morning by the country’s Deputy Premier and Home Affairs Minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who expressed confidence that “the police followed the law and regulations”.

The Speaker of Parliament added, however, that he should have been informed of the police plan to arrest opposition Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Member of Parliament (MP) Rafizi Ramli, saying this was to allow him to notify Parliament.

“Information on the arrest should have been conveyed to me as the speaker of the Dewan Rakyat so that the House can be notified,” he said in a statement, referring to Parliament by its formal name. Mr Pandikar also noted that the arrest had taken place outside the Parliament compound, which he said is in accordance with the duty of the police under Standing Order 1(e) to preserve the safety and harmony of the Dewan Rakyat during proceedings.

In a high-profile arrest, Mr Rafizi, who is also PKR’s secretary-general and vice-president, was detained by the authorities on Tuesday over the alleged distribution of a page from the auditor-general’s classified report on troubled state investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

The Magistrate Court in Putrajaya had granted a request by the police to remand Mr Rafizi for three days until today, after which the police can seek an extension of remand or release him on bail.

On March 29, Mr Rafizi claimed during a press conference to have an excerpt from the auditor-general’s report, which he said demonstrated that 1MDB’s finances had affected the Armed Forces Fund Board’s (LTAT) ability to make timely gratuity payments. 1MDB denied the allegation and accused Mr Rafizi of lying.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has been under intense political pressure over some RM2.6 billion (S$896 million) allegedly deposited into his private accounts, as well as irregularities in 1MDB. Several countries, including the United States, Singapore, Luxembourg and Switzerland, are conducting investigations into 1MDB for suspected money laundering.

Mr Rafizi’s arrest drew condemnation from fellow opposition lawmakers within the Pakatan Harapan coalition. Early yesterday morning, opposition parliamentarians, led by PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and Democratic Action Party (DAP) secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, held a protest march from Parliament to the Bukit Aman police headquarters in order to demand Mr Rafizi’s release.

Following the rally, Kuala Lumpur police chief Amar Singh told Malaysian media the demonstrators would be hauled up for police questioning, as they had violated the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 (PAA).“We will record their statements. Under PAA, they aren’t allowed to organise the demonstration, and yet they went ahead with it,” he said. AGENCIES