There were many issues this past week that I had wanted to comment upon. The Deputy Prime Minister’s assertion that UMNO’s struggle not over until 30pc Bumi target met implied commitment until you realize that UMNO had decades with the target as official government policy and still (according to them) they have not achieved that goal. Perhaps it is time to let someone else try? But Lim Guan Eng’s suggestion that perhaps UMNO’s struggle should be to catch the thieves of RM52 billion equity that said government policy had provided said it much better than I could.
Than there was that anniversary of Teoh Beng Hock’s tragic death. The grim pictures of his family still coming to grips with their loss struggling to to contain both their anger and despair over prospects of the matter coming to a acceptable closure haunted me. However this piece by Nanda placing Teoh Beng Hock’s death in the context of 1805 deaths in custody brought the issues into sharper relief.
So I have decided to write about Selangor’s tabling of the Freedom of Information Enactment Bill 2010 – an event that I view as immensely important but surprisingly drew few comments. This is the beginning of quite a lengthy process and it only deals with state matters but it does represent the first time a sitting government in Malaysia has tabled such a bill to allow the public access to the dealings of the administration. Another (dubious) first that came out of this is that this is probably the first occasion in the world where the Opposition is unhappy about such a bill. The objection was that it goes against the federal constitution and laws. Since it is BN who enacted those federal laws it seems to me that once again they have reiterated their preference for their actions and decisions to be hidden from public scrutiny.
http://sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=49406
http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=49405
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/bn-opposition-attacks-selangors-information-bill/
In the matter of the 30% Bumi target there is a desperate need to know how is it that decades of government policy to help the Bumis enjoy at least 30% of the economic pie the target remains elusive. There is a desperate need to know how the equity and opportunities given by government policy have been squandered. A Freedom of Information Act will allow the public to scrutinize the effectiveness of the government and also expose corruption if it exists. Instead all we have is the Deputy Prime Minister asserting that his party will not let go until this is achieved.
In the matter of Teoh Beng Hock’s family and their need for closure, a Freedom of Information Act will force the truth to surface because facts can be sought for after the court case is over. At the very least the public will have enough information to make up their own minds.
I have always taken the position that in the matter of choosing our political leaders we should only base our choice on what we deem to be important. We can be fooled some of the time, like in the case of some MPs who stood under one platform and then now work hard to discredit that very platform they once stood. But if we steadfastly base our choice on principles that matter we should not go too far wrong.
For me, a candidate or a party’s commitment to truth and transparency is vital. They can say all they want but ultimately they must back up what they say with truth. Here Selangor PR wins big points with me. It could well be that down the road the FOI Bill will turn out to be a huge smoke screen but compare that with another party who prefers the Official Secrets Act, the Printing Press Act, and the acts of closing down publications of those who oppose them.
Over the issue of sand mining, Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim’s response was to release information about the identity of those recipients of sand mining licenses. Over the issue of missing billions in Felda, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak claimed that Felda had invested RM844 million in shares which now have a value of RM4.6 billion. RM2.4 billion was spent in replanting. But still Felda does not release an annual report of it’s finances which will clarify the situation. And in the meantime I read this report of how some second generation of Felda workers do not even qualify financially to buy low cost housing that were built for them. So does Felda exist to enrich itself or their workers?
I don’t know Khalid Ibrahim or Najib Razak personally. All I know is that one says “I’ll give you information so you can make your mind up about what the true situation is” while the other says “It is not our policy to release information but trust me, we have been prudent.”
