An objective test of secrecy

An objective test of secrecy: Updated 11:31 AM Jan 14, 2011
Letter from Adrian Kwong Sze Ken
I refer to the Law Minister's comments in Parliament on the Official Secrets Act ("S'pore on WikiLeaks: 'Once bitten, twice shy'", Jan 11).

Mr K Shanmugam was quoted as saying "public interest in the free flow of information cannot justify the abuse of confidential Government information".
It is important to note the fundamental qualification that the information must be confidential in the first place.
Relying on the Government's own classification of what is "secret" or "confidential" official information that may not be disclosed, with no objective test of whether that classification is justified, leaves the Official Secrets Act open for abuse.
Especially where there is no 30-year rule on automatic declassification, as is the case, for example, in the United Kingdom.
In my view, information that is in the public domain can also not be an "official secret".
That the Singapore courts have recognised the need for an objective test of secrecy is reflected in the words of the then-Chief Justice Yong Pung How, in the 1997 Official Secrets Act (OSA) prosecution of Bridges Christopher v Public Prosecutor ((1997) 1 SLR(R) 156; (1997) SGHC 17): "It is ludicrous to suggest that information such as "the sun rises in the east" is secret official information even if it is classified as "Top Secret" by a government department. Common sense dictates that a line must be drawn somewhere."
This point was not challenged on appeal to the Court of Appeal, the highest court in Singapore, in Criminal Reference No 1 of 1997 [1997] 3 SLR 467 [1997] SGCA 61.
I agree that there is definitely a legitimate need to safeguard operational, technical and other secrets of the State. However, the Government's recent wide pronouncements on the application of the OSA must therefore be read subject to the interpretation of the Courts of Singapore, especially with respect to the criminal law where the life and liberty of the accused are at stake.
URL http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC110114-0000178/An-objective-test-of-secrecy
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