Make public audit and water concession pact, court rules
(Free Malaysia Today) – The High Court today ordered the federal government to make public the audit report and water concession agreement signed with the Selangor government and Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas).
Judicial Commissioner Hadhariah Syed Ismail said the disclosure of the documents would not be detrimental to national or public interest.
Instead, it would serve the public interest in keeping them informed of the workings of the government and to promote discussion of public affairs, she said.
Hadhariah was ruling in favour of the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) and 13 others who had asked for a judicial review after then Energy, Water and Communications Minister Dr Lim Keng Yaik denied their request to make public the documents.
They had written a letter to the minister on Nov 7, 2006, requesting for the audit report and concession agreement be disclosed, but was rejected by the ministry on Dec 4, 2006, on grounds the documents had been classified as confidential and secret.
Since then, the utility now comes under the portfolio of the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry.
Hadhariah ordered the first respondent, the Energy, Water and Communications Minister, to submit the documents to MTUC and the other applicants within seven days.
In her judgment, she said even though the concession agreement was not disclosed yet, information on non-revenue water (NRW) and its percentage of reduction, formula for tariff increase, period of review and payment of compensation to Syabas had already been in circulation by the media and third parties.
“In that sense, it can no longer be treated as a confidential document because these are the major issues. In the first place, the concession agreement is not a private agreement. It was executed with public interest in mind,” she said.
