“If they want to do an exposé, make sure it is in the public’s interest and not to mudsling or to gain political advantage, because the public is a lot smarter (than they think),” he said.

Rafizi added that he was not bothered by Hamzah’s claim of having “files” on the alleged wrongdoings of current government leaders.

The PKR deputy president also expressed doubt that Hamzah would be willing to reveal the information that he claimed to have, saying the latter’s remarks were merely rhetoric.

“If it were a major scandal, I don’t think you would need an OSA (Official Secrets Act) document to expose it.

“If there had been a major scandal involving anyone, the information and documents would have been out and the media would have (them) by now. We live in an era where you can’t really keep a lid on things like this.”

On Sunday, Hamzah was quoted by Malaysiakini as telling the government not to find fault with Perikatan Nasional as he could do likewise.

In a recent interview, Hamzah claimed he “had files on government party leaders” from his time as a minister.

“I used to be the home minister, I think I’ve got a lot of files on them too (and it is a matter of) whether I want to use them or not,” he was quoted as saying.

This prompted lawyers and government backbenchers to remind the Bersatu leader that it was an offence to withhold information about wrongdoing by government leaders. They also questioned why he did not act on the matter when he was home minister.

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