Ra i denies OSA charges
PKR leader claims trial to two counts
PKR vice-president Mohd Rafizi Ramli was charged with criminal defamation and violating the Official Secrets Act (OSA), in two separate courts here. He claimed trial to both charges. In the first court before Sessions Court judge Zulqarnain Hassan, Rafizi was charged with possessing page 98 of the 1Malaysia Development Bhd audit report without approval, which he acquired in violation of the OSA 1972.
He was said to have committed the offence at the Parliament lobby in Jalan Parlimen here at about 3pm on March 24 this year.
Rafizi, 39, was also accused of exposing without approval, the contents of the audit report during a press conference on March 28, thus endangering the secret.
He was charged under Section 8(1)(c)(iii) and Section 8(1)(c)(iv) of the Act respectively.
Clad in a black suit and cream shirt, the Pandan MP was brought to the court at about 11am to have the charges read before him.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Abazafree Mohd Abbas told the court that both parties had agreed that bail be set at RM3,000 in one surety.
Judge Zulqarnain then set bail at RM3,000 in one surety.
Rafizi was later taken to another court before magistrate Mohd Rehan Mohd Aris to face a charge under Section 499 of the Penal Code for criminal defamation.
He pleaded not guilty to defaming the Tabung Haji Board at his blog www.rafiziramli. com with accusations that could tarnish the board’s name.
He was said to have committed the offence at about 9am on Feb 18.
In asking for bail, Rafizi’s lawyer R. Sivarasa said the offence was compoundable and proposed his client be granted personal bond.
DPP Mohamad Abazafree then proposed bail at RM2,000 in one surety.
However, magistrate Mohd Rehan fixed bail at RM1,000 in one surety. Both courts set April 29 for mention.
Also present in court were Batu MP Tian Chua and former Machang MP Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
Rafizi posted bail at the counter at about 1pm, accompanied by his team of lawyers and supporters. He was arrested outside the Parliament gates on Tuesday and remanded until yesterday to assist in investigations.
AT 1.59pm on Wednesday, on the day Rafizi Ramli was brought to Putrajaya Magistrate’s Court for his remand to be extended, his Facebook page posted an emotive message and photograph.
It posted a photograph of a smiling Rafizi with his seemingly handcuffed hands behind his back as several police personnel escorted him to the court room.
“Sdr Rafizi baru tiba di Istana Kehakiman Putrajaya. Digari seperti penjenayah. Sebarkan!! (Comrade Rafizi has just arrived at the Palace of Justice Putrajaya. Handcuffed like a criminal. Circulate!),” the caption screamed (for justice).
On that day, the PKR secretary-was remanded for three days to facilitate investigations under the Official Secrets Act 1972. The police had arrested Rafizi outside the Parliament gates at 6pm on Tuesday.
Yesterday, according to The Star Online, the Pandan MP was charged with criminal defamation and two offences under the Official Secrets Act 1972 (OSA). He was accused of exposing Page 98 of the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) audit report without approval at the Parliament lobby on March 28.
Rafizi was also charged at the Sessions Court with possessing the 1MDB audit report without approval on March 24 at the same place. He claimed trial to the charges.
On Wednesday, the photograph of Rafizi seemingly handcuffed riled many of his Facebook friends. Scrolling through 1,306 comments, here are some of the views I found.
Lai Ckhanna: Why the need to handcuff him ... is his offence so big until he is treated as a criminal? What will happen to Malaysia?
Mentaha Megat: They want to humiliate and dishearten him. This work by the enforcer who is influenced by Satan. Former Selangor Mentri Besar Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo was not handcuffed and now he is under house arrest.
Inang Naqiera Jamal: Those who blatantly steal are not handcuffed while those who speak out about the thief become victims. Malaysia is really safe. If that is the case, I want to move to New Zealand.
Nazri Kocheng: No need to handcuff him. Where can he run? Everybody knows Rafizi’s face.
Later in the day, a photograph montage called “The Ultimate Wayang” showed that Rafizi was actually not handcuffed. A screenshot of TV video footage showed the MP’s left index hooking onto his right thumb while his left thumb and little finger were splayed out.
Clearly, the honourable Member of Parliament was not handcuffed.
It was a kantoi (to get caught) moment for the Rafizi Facebook admin. At 4.07pm, about two hours after its gari posting, the admin changed the posting. It uncuffed the handcuff allegation.
“Comrade Rafizi has just arrived at the Palace of Justice Putrajaya. NOTICE: Tonight we assemble in front of the Jinjang Lockup at 9pm. Solidarity. #FreeRafizi Circulate!!,” it rewrote, in Bahasa Malaysia.
But some diehard Rafizi supporters found an abnormality in the photo montage. In the photograph showing Rafizi escorted by police personnel, he was wearing a light blue long-sleeved shirt. But in the close up photograph showing his hands, he was wearing a brown coloured t-shirt with lines.
Jeng. Jeng. Jeng. The montage was a conspiracy! It was photoshopped! Rafizi was really handcuffed!
On some of my WhatsApp groups, it sparked a heated debate – diehard Rafizi supporters vs neutrals and Barisan Nasional (BN) supporters.
“The first pix shows a blue shirt without lines while the second pix shows a black shirt with lines. BN raja putar (king of spinning),” a Pakatan Harapan supporter argued.
In another WhatsApp group, where most members understand that politics is not black and white but grey, a rather clever 40-something journalist gave an explanation of why the colour of the shirt looked different.
“Colour balance is different. Look at this pix, the shirt is blue,” he said, sharing a pix of Rafizi in court on Wednesday and the colour of the shirt looked grey.
“Hahaha. Black/Blue or white/ gold,” he wrote, referring to the viral discussion on “Is That Dress White and Gold or Blue and Black?”.
I shared the “colour balance” theory in another WhatsApp group and a friend shared my theory in another WhatsApp group that both of us are also in.
For offering an explanation to why the shirt looked different, my friend was called an “Umno cockroach who only knows how to lie” by a diehard opposition supporter. It was an unfair attack as my friend actually voted for the opposition in GE13.
Then came the ultimate “evidence” that Rafizi was not handcuffed. TV news footage showed that there were no handcuffs.
That shut up the diehard Rafizi supporters. That night, like defeated Manchester United fans, they hid in a cave.
Rafizi’s lawyer, Saiful Izham Ramli, also issued a statement on the issue.
It was normal police procedure for those taken to court to keep their hands together, he said, to enable the police to hold on to the person’s arms on either sides.
“It was not acting or drama or to gain sympathy but a usual procedure on the part of the police when bringing an accused (who does not fall in the serious crime category) to court,” he said.
Yesterday, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar dismissed Saiful’s claim.
“No such thing. He is just cooking up fairy tales to further confuse people,” he told a news portal.
“My officers never instructed him to keep his hands behind his back using standard operating procedure as a justification.
“The officers were escorting him, and he could have placed his hands by his side or anywhere else when walking, there are no restrictions for this,” Khalid said.
The moral of the handcuff drama is don’t get sucked in to a lie because you are handcuffed to your political beliefs.