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Malaysia drafts legislation to protect whistle-blowers

Malaysia has begun drawing up legislation aimed at protecting whistle-blowers, shortly after former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim was threatened with jail after releasing a video purportedly showing judicial corruption.

Anwar caused a furor when he made the video clip public in September, and ran into trouble with anti-graft authorities when he refused to reveal the source, arguing their safety had not been guaranteed by the government.

Nazri Aziz, minister in the prime minister's department, said that the first draft of the Witness Protection Act -- initially proposed in 2000 -- has been circulated to government agencies and ministries for their feedback.

He said the draft will then be presented to cabinet for approval, the official Bernama news agency reported late on Sunday.

"Then it will be brought to parliament for the first reading and debated before it is passed and gazetted as an Act," Nazri, the de facto law minister, was quoted saying by the news agency.

In the edited eight-minute version released by Anwar, a well-connected lawyer apparently tells a top judge over the telephone that he would push his name forward for a senior appointment.

Last month, Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) officials ordered Anwar to surrender the full and original recording, which reveals the identity of the whistle-blower, or face arrest and a jail sentence of up to two years.

Anwar said the agency's officials had backed down from a deadline to supply the footage.

The agency reportedly said the demand still stood, but it has not taken any further action.

Anwar, who was once heir to former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, said the agency's order was politically motivated and accused the government of trying to intimidate him.

The former deputy was sacked in 1998 and charged with sodomy and corruption charges that landed him in jail for six years.

Although the sodomy conviction was overturned, the corruption verdict stands, barring Anwar from standing for public office until next April.
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