Shamsul, who is Bukit Katil MP, said a concerted effort by the powers that be would soon target all Pakatan reps, in an attempt to overthrow a strong opposition alliance.
“It appears that the ruling government is more likely to “gunakan mahkamah” (use the courts) on Pakatan leaders.
“It appears that in this matter, they have used “lapuk” (outdated) acts such as the Official Secrets Act (OSA) to stifle whistleblowers who had leaked the plundering of taxpayers money.
“We condemn and reject his (Rafizi’s) jail term, but it is clear that OSA is not used to protect national interests but to protect the national leaders’ interests,” Shamsul said.
Shamsul made the comments during a Pakatan Harapan leaders’ press conference at the state Legislative Assembly building here today.
Yesterday, the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court sentenced Rafizi to 18 months’ jail over two charges of leaking a classified 1MDB audit report.
Article 48 of the Federal Constitution disqualifies a person from being a member of parliament for five years should he be convicted and sentenced to more than one year, or fined more than RM2,000.
Rafizi, who is PKR’s Secretary-General, remains as MP as he has not exhausted his right to appeal. However, he cannot contest for any seat should a general election be called while the appeal is still pending.
Meanwhile, Shamsul said the charges brought on Rafizi were questionable, as the said OSA document would have been tabled in Parliament and later debated.
“There is nothing strange to sift through the audit papers,” Shamsul added.
Shamsul said that he, too, could suffer a similar fate as Rafizi as he faces a date in court on Thursday, being charged under the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA).
“If I am fined more than RM2,000 I will lose my chance to contest. This clearly shows that there is a deficit in democracy in our country.
Rafizi sentenced to 18 months’ jail for leaking 1MDB secrets