Hamzah's claims of having government leaders' files just rhetoric - Rafizi

KUALA LUMPUR - Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) deputy president Rafizi Ramli believes opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin's claims of 'having files' on government leaders was mere rhetoric.

The Pandan member of Parliament said the opposition must have public interests in mind instead of using such revelations for political mileage.

He said the public was much smarter in evaluating such matters.

"I have been in their position before. At the time I was subjected to the Official Secrets Act (OSA) 1972 over 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) revelations and the situation was dire, as my efforts encountered such reactions.

"I doubt any politician would want to take the risk of being imprisoned as I was, that's why I am not too worried," he said in a press conference after the 2023 Economic Census Launch Ceremony, here, on Tuesday.

The media on Sunday reported Hamzah reminding the government not to be so persistent in finding the opposition's faults.

He said as a former home minister he could also reveal offences committed by current government leaders as he had files in his possession.

Rafizi explained the opposition should not need an OSA document to reveal a major scandal.

"From my experience documents under OSA is not usually needed. If there was a major scandal involving any individual the information and document would be released now.

"There's a large possibility that the media would get it. Covering up or keeping such matters (scandals) a secret is not possible in this day and age.

"We will wait and see, I don't want to be too distracted by such things. We have much more work to be done and I would rather choose to implement all the plans and see the development of difficult projects one by one," he said.