International warrant can be used to extradite Brown, says Kayveas

The Malaysian Government can apply for an international warrant to extradite Sarawak Report portal founder Clare Rewcastle Brown to Malaysia, says veteran lawyer and politician Tan Sri M. Kayveas.

He said this could be done if there was sufficient proof that the United Kingdom (UK)-based portal had tampered with confidential information that it had obtained from Xavier Andre Justo, a former executive of PetroSaudi International Ltd (PSI).

Speaking to Bernama Monday, Kayveas said if it was true that confidential information had been tampered with, the government should charge Brown under the Defamation Act.

The People's Progressive Party (PPP) president was commenting on media reports quoting Thai police spokesman Lieutenant-General Prawut Thavornsiri that the information sold by Justo, a Swiss national, and what appeared on the Sarawak Report portal were not the same.

Kayveas, who has been in the legal field for more than 20 years said in obtaining the international warrant, the attorney-general should first look into the case and discuss with his UK counterpart to seek permission to extradite Brown.

The other option, he said, was charging the portal (Sarawak Report) for defamation in the UK courts as both countries shared the same penal code.

It was reported there were alleged attempts to topple the government by destabilising the country and jeopardising national security.

Opposition leaders were also alleged to have met Justo to buy information from him to discredit the Malaysian Government.