For those concerned Malaysians who were drenched with political optimism soon after the March 8 general election, the announcement made by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz (see Malaysiakini today) that the government would not enact a Freedom of Information Act and a Whistleblower Protection Act is obviously a major letdown.
For Nazri to have said that the government could decide on anything that needed to be declassified at anytime is, to say the least, hardly reassuring. For this only implies that the rakyat’s right to certain vital information firmly hinges on the discretion of the powers-that-be. Would government leaders have the political will to release information if it eventually implicates them in, say, a financial scandal?
The inability of Malaysians, particularly investigative journalists, to gain access to important information regarding the government would hamper efforts to unearth corruption, and also to help promote transparency, accountability and good governance.
Furthermore, with the Official Secrets Act still intact and without the strong ‘cover’ of a Whistleblower Protection Act, whistleblowers are not inclined to offer information of public significance and interest to relevant people such as journalists.
This development once again begs the question of how serious was the post-March 8 Abdullah administration when it declared that it had learnt some important lessons and that it was now ready to listen attentively to the rakyat?
Malaysians who are concerned about media freedom and freedom of information in this country can lend their support to the civil society initiative to petition for a Freedom of Information Act. Check here and here.
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