Malaysians Have A Right To Details Of Water Deal!
The Centre to Combat Corruption & Cronyism (C4) is disappointed yet not surprised at the Attorney General’s latest refusal to disclose details of the controversial water restructuring agreement, inked and finalized, in the dying days of the tenure of former Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim with the Federal Government.
Only yesterday former Finance Minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah strongly suggested that the Official Secrets Act (OSA) needs an urgent review, it conceals thousands of sins of the government, and has paved the way for corruption to fester.
Given the long protracted tussle involved in the negotiations of this agreement, the water deal has now become a subject of supreme public interest, making it crucial for details to be disclosed for further understanding and scrutiny. Now why should the deal be tucked away under the OSA? Is the government afraid of sharing information with its own people? Why is there a need to withhold the details of the deal? Why keep us Malaysians in the dark over how our tax payers money was spent? Surely the agreement does not threaten the security of the nation?
C4 views this latest action by the Attorney General as an outright abuse of power, and back the call of Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali in demanding for a formal and written reason from the Attorney General on why public disclosure cannot be exercised.
In the event that the Federal government defiantly chooses to hide behind the OSA, there is then an added and crucial responsibility for new MB Azmin Ali to use the provisions of the Freedom of Information enactment in Selangor to dutifully inform all Selangorians impacted by the water agreement, as any responsible and accountable leader would do as the devil is in the detais.
C4 further warns that the more the OSA is used as a shield to protect the government from the responsibility of public disclosure, the greater the trust deficit will be between the people and the government.
Malaysia must live up to the demands of the information age, and stop treating its citizens like its enemies. A more informed citizenry is a demonstration of a more mature society, and Malaysia must be ready to embrace this challenge.
We must have the political will to move towards a more open Government, in order not to be left behind with other Asian giants.
Released By
Cynthia Gabriel
Executive Director C4
