PARLIAMENT The office of the chief security officer of the government of Malaysia and relevant agencies are in the process of reviewing and making amendments to the Official Secrets Act 1972 (Act 88) or OSA.

The Prime Minister’s Department said this in a written reply to Hasan Arifin (BN-Rompin) at the Dewan Rakyat today.

It said the review and amendments involved punishments for offences, prevention elements and protection of official secrets against being leaked out or exposed by government officers or individuals with access or control of them.

“The proposed amendments in certain sections under Act 88 pertain to the appropriateness of the punishment according to the seriousness of the offence.”

Hasan wanted to know the statistics on recipients of punishment under Section 3 of the OSA 1972.

He also wanted to know whether the government was ready to amend provisions in the Act to accommodate a heavier punishment such as life sentence for the bearer and recipient of government secrets.

According to the department, Section 3 of the OSA 1972 (Act 88) already has a provision for life imprisonment for espionage agents.

However, no one has been convicted under the section (Act 88) since its enforcement in 1984, said the department.

- Bernama