RTI - educate Cabinet Ministers first
Sept 28 is International Right to Know Day, but Cabinet Ministers in Malaysia suffer from a serious attack of deficit of RTI (Right to Information).
During question time on Monday (26.9.05), I had asked the Prime Minister about the introduction of a Freedom of Information (FOI) law to allow easy public access to government information except for special cases such as national security or personal confidentiality instead of individual releases like the APs list or Air Pollutant Index (API).
Nazri Aziz, Minister in the PM’s Department who answered the question, shocked MPs and the civil society with his dismissive rejection of the idea of FOI, claiming that “the need does not arise” as “the government is of the opinion that existing legislation is adequate to allow and ensure public access to government-held information”.
I pursued the issue during my supplementary question, referring to my speech in Parliament in March 1997 on the urgent need for a mindset change about RTI – right to information - if Malaysia is to succeed in making the quantum leap into the information society and knowledge economy, with the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) conceived at the time as the centrepiece of such an ambitious programme.
This is what I said in Parliament eight years ago about FOI during the debate on the royal address on March 25 1997:
“The Official Secrets Act should be repealed and replaced by a Freedom of Information and Privacy Act. In the Information Society, as a general rule, government information should be accessible by the people because it belongs to the people. This requires a change from the traditional philosophy under which the government’s information was regarded by the government (and often by the people) as the government’s property and none of the people’s business.
“The government holds this information on behalf of the people and should take due care to ensure the quality, integrity and authenticity of government information.
“Access to government-held information is a prerequisite to the proper functioning of a democratic society. Without information, people cannot exercise their rights and responsibilities or make informed choices. Information is necessary for government accountability. A general shift in focus is therefore required - from one of not disclosing information unless absolutely required, to one of disclosing unless there is a very good reason not to, such as defence or security considerations.”
I find it very sad that Cabinet Ministers today have not grasped what I advocated in Parliament seven years go. Or even 26 years ago! On October 26, 1979, when Hussein Onn was the Prime Minister, I had spoken in Parliament on my motion to introduce a private member’s bill on “Freedom of Information Act” where I had stressed that “if Malaysia is to have a meaningful parliamentary democracy, we must create a more open government, which respects and upholds the fundamental right to know of the citizens in all matters affecting the country and people”. (Malaysia in the dangerous 80s - Lim Kit Siang 1982)
In Parliament on Monday, I referred to large swathes of public policy and concern where Malaysian citizens are kept completely in the dark, such as the Murad Report on the primary and secondary education system, the Zahid report on higher education, the various studies in the past two decades about National Health Financing and the continued secrecy on the Interim Report of the Police Royal Commission of Inquiry – which do not bode well that the government of the day understands the basic prerequisites required if Malaysia is to succeed as an information society and knowledge economy.
To my question whether the government is prepared to have a completely new approach towards information to usher in an open society, Nazri gave a curt but very incriminating two-word reply: “Not ready”.
Cabinet Ministers must be the first target of the Sept 28 International Right to Know Day - a day dedicated to creating awareness about the importance of the right to information and campaigning for more open, democratic societies in which there is full citizen empowerment and participation in government.
I would recommend that Nazri and all Cabinet Ministers visit the website of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), a non-governmental body based in New Delhi, which is promoting the enactment of enabling RTI legislation in Commonwealth member-countries.
CHRI said:
“Freedom of Information lies at the root of the rights discourse. Failure of the State to provide access to information or State suppression of information can lead to the most egregious forms of human rights violations. The Right to Information (RTI) is fundamental to the realisation of rights as well as effective democracy, which requires informed participation by all.”
During question time on Monday (26.9.05), I had asked the Prime Minister about the introduction of a Freedom of Information (FOI) law to allow easy public access to government information except for special cases such as national security or personal confidentiality instead of individual releases like the APs list or Air Pollutant Index (API).
Nazri Aziz, Minister in the PM’s Department who answered the question, shocked MPs and the civil society with his dismissive rejection of the idea of FOI, claiming that “the need does not arise” as “the government is of the opinion that existing legislation is adequate to allow and ensure public access to government-held information”.
I pursued the issue during my supplementary question, referring to my speech in Parliament in March 1997 on the urgent need for a mindset change about RTI – right to information - if Malaysia is to succeed in making the quantum leap into the information society and knowledge economy, with the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) conceived at the time as the centrepiece of such an ambitious programme.
This is what I said in Parliament eight years ago about FOI during the debate on the royal address on March 25 1997:
“The Official Secrets Act should be repealed and replaced by a Freedom of Information and Privacy Act. In the Information Society, as a general rule, government information should be accessible by the people because it belongs to the people. This requires a change from the traditional philosophy under which the government’s information was regarded by the government (and often by the people) as the government’s property and none of the people’s business.
“The government holds this information on behalf of the people and should take due care to ensure the quality, integrity and authenticity of government information.
“Access to government-held information is a prerequisite to the proper functioning of a democratic society. Without information, people cannot exercise their rights and responsibilities or make informed choices. Information is necessary for government accountability. A general shift in focus is therefore required - from one of not disclosing information unless absolutely required, to one of disclosing unless there is a very good reason not to, such as defence or security considerations.”
I find it very sad that Cabinet Ministers today have not grasped what I advocated in Parliament seven years go. Or even 26 years ago! On October 26, 1979, when Hussein Onn was the Prime Minister, I had spoken in Parliament on my motion to introduce a private member’s bill on “Freedom of Information Act” where I had stressed that “if Malaysia is to have a meaningful parliamentary democracy, we must create a more open government, which respects and upholds the fundamental right to know of the citizens in all matters affecting the country and people”. (Malaysia in the dangerous 80s - Lim Kit Siang 1982)
In Parliament on Monday, I referred to large swathes of public policy and concern where Malaysian citizens are kept completely in the dark, such as the Murad Report on the primary and secondary education system, the Zahid report on higher education, the various studies in the past two decades about National Health Financing and the continued secrecy on the Interim Report of the Police Royal Commission of Inquiry – which do not bode well that the government of the day understands the basic prerequisites required if Malaysia is to succeed as an information society and knowledge economy.
To my question whether the government is prepared to have a completely new approach towards information to usher in an open society, Nazri gave a curt but very incriminating two-word reply: “Not ready”.
Cabinet Ministers must be the first target of the Sept 28 International Right to Know Day - a day dedicated to creating awareness about the importance of the right to information and campaigning for more open, democratic societies in which there is full citizen empowerment and participation in government.
I would recommend that Nazri and all Cabinet Ministers visit the website of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), a non-governmental body based in New Delhi, which is promoting the enactment of enabling RTI legislation in Commonwealth member-countries.
CHRI said:
“Freedom of Information lies at the root of the rights discourse. Failure of the State to provide access to information or State suppression of information can lead to the most egregious forms of human rights violations. The Right to Information (RTI) is fundamental to the realisation of rights as well as effective democracy, which requires informed participation by all.”
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