PUTRAJAYA: Those under witness protection as whistleblowers should not be kept as witnesses for a protracted period of time, says Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) said this was one of the areas being looked into, with a Bill to be tabled in Parliament in June to amend the Whistleblower Protection Act.
“Among the Bills to be tabled are those involving legal aid and witness protection.
“One of the most pressing issues is that those under witness protection under the Act should not be kept over a prolonged period.
“The cases which they are involved with must be disposed off as soon as possible,” she said during the Hari Raya Open House celebration here yesterday.
“If there are cases involving them as key witnesses and they are kept over a period of several years, I disagree with this.
“Especially if excuses are given that their cases have been postponed,” she said.
On a separate matter, Azalina said out of more than 3,000 outdated laws initially identified, only 164 remain under technical revision by the Attorney General’s Chambers.
She said some of the archaic laws were enacted before Independence, with others going back further.
“But what is ongoing in terms of reforms involve those related to criminal and contract laws.”
She cited the current use of digital signatures law as an example where the law of contracts needs to be kept up-to- date.
“Some of the contractual laws that we have are unable to cover this aspect comprehensively,” she said.
