No cover-up, no secret deal, abolish the OSA!

The High Court sitting in Kuala Lumpur has declared that the public has the right to know about the water deals between the federal government, the Selangor state government and Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas), and has ordered the federal government to make public the relevant documents,

Judicial Commissioner Hadhariah Syed Ismail said the disclosure of the documents would not affect national security and public interest, and told the federal government to make public the audit report and water concession agreement it signed with the Selangor administration and Syabas.

The Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) and 13 others had filed for a judicial review after the then Energy, Water and Communications Minister Tun Dr Lim Keng Yaik had rejected their request for the documents to be made public, on the ground that the documents had been classified as official secret and confidential.

Hadhariah, in her ruling, said that the public disclosure of the documents would not be detrimental to the nation, but could instead serve the public interest by allowing the people to be informed of the way the government operates.

She then ordered the ministry concerned to provide copies of the requested documents to the MTUC and the 13 petitioners.

Judicial Commissioner Hadhariah should be highly commended for such a very wise, just, fair and reasonable ruling.

Most of the time, the general public is kept in the dark about decisions made on their behalf by the authorities, and they are told simply to accept whatever is decided and implemented for them.

There is no transparency and accountability in whatever major or minor policies, decisions or actions taken in the name of public interests.

The Najib administration has declared that one of its major tasks is to eliminate corruption from society, especially within the civil service, and what better way to fight this scourge of society than to adopt an open, transparent and accountable practice of disclosure of all deals and contracts for public study, scrutiny and suggestions.

To prevent is better than cure, as the saying goes, and what more effective way is there to prevent the possibility of corrupt practices than to have all facts and figures of any deal laid out for the examination and investigation of the people, among whom are experts who can discern and detect any irregularities or impropriety.

The recent sport-gambling fiasco is a good example of how public feedbacks on a government decision can avert a big blunder that may destroy the fragile moral fibre of our society, especially among the younger generation, and cause untold sufferings to many families affected by the evil of gambling.

The federal government has often asked people not to listen to rumours or believe in speculations on various matters. What better way is there to curb the spread of rumours than to tell the truth? If the federal government is open and transparent with whatever it decides and implements, and let the public know the facts and figures, then the rumours will die a natural death.

Take the case of the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) controversy, which arose after the cost to develop the massive 400-hectare integrated cargo distribution hub spiraled from RM1.9 billion to RM4.6 billion.

Such a scandal would have been avoided if the federal government had been more open and transparent initially when embarking on the project.

It should have allowed the public to analytically scrutinize the plan, critically assess the financial situation and capability of the Port Klang Authority and the PKFZ, propose and formulate viable business models for them, and recommend strategic plans and actions to attract local and foreign investors.

Judicial Commissioner Hadhariah’s ruling implies that the public disclosure of the official documents involving deals made by the authorities should be the norm as it would serve the interests of the government and people if the people are well-informed.

If Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak wants the support of the people to realize his dream of making Malaysia a great nation, then he must be open, transparent and honest with people. No cover-up. No secret deal. Abolish the Official Secrets Acts. Enact a Freedom of Information Act.