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Ezam’s acquittal by the High Court is a much awaited vindication and a triumph for justice and the rule of law   Press Statement by M Kula Segaran (Petaling Jaya, Friday): DAP welcomes the acquittal of Party Keadilan Youth Chief Ezam Mohd Nor by the Shah Alam High Court from his earlier conviction for committing an offence under the Official Secrets Act (OSA). The decision by the High Court is a vindication for Ezam, as his case is a classic example of a whistleblower being prosecuted whereas the alleged culprits remained free from legal action.  In the first place, it was wrong for the Attorney General’s Chambers to prosecute Ezam when the grounds for holding that he had committed an offence under the OSA were flimsy and questionable. This was made manifestly clear by the presiding High Court judge Justice K.N. Segara who held that there can be no offence under the Act for making public documents which had yet to be classified as official secrets.   In addition to the harrowing episode of being convicted by the sessions court, Ezam had to suffer another unnecessary setback when he was unfairly deprived of the opportunity to contest in the recent general election, which was all the more disputable considering that he had yet to exhaust all avenues of appeal available to him.   Ezam’s acquittal also represents a victory for rule of law and hopefully will sow the seed for further restoration of public confidence in the judiciary as well as its independence so as to ensure that justice is fully served.   (16/4/2004) * M Kula Segaran, DAP Acting Secretary General and MP for Ipoh Barat