KUALA LUMPUR – With plans by the unity government to enact a federal-level freedom of information act (FOI), civil liberties activists and media practitioners have weighed in on how best to implement it.
They said the experience of trying to use state-level FOI laws in Penang and Selangor has been disappointing and onerous, and they have subsequently cautioned the unity government to avoid similar pitfalls.
Their advice comes as the legal affairs division under the Prime Minister’s Department (PMD) recently concluded a survey on public views about an FOI law, which had been Pakatan Harapan’s election manifesto last year.
Kaji Selidik Awam Mengenai Cadangan Gubalan Akta Kebebasan Maklumat (Freedom of Information Act)
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Give justice to the word ‘freedom’
Lawyer and civil rights activist Meenakshi Raman said the fee required to access information can be a stumbling block.
Fees should be structured in a range according to the age of a document, and should not be burdensome to the public, she said.
“Normally, the fee would be around RM5 to RM20 (depending on the document), so it is fine to require a small amount since there would be staff working to find the documents,” she told The Vibes.
“The government should give meaning to the word ‘freedom’ in FOI. The process should be easy for the public to access information,” Meenakshi added.
The survey by PMD’s legal division had asked respondents if documents under the Official Secrets Act 1972 (OSA) should be made public.
On this, Meenakshi said the government must not abuse the OSA and only apply the law to documents that protect national security.
Neither should the OSA be used to conceal wrongdoings, she said, adding that if the OSA is necessary for certain documents, the reasons why should be clearly stated to the public.
Respond promptly
Radzi Razak, a journalist and spokesman of Gerakan Media Merdeka said government departments responding to an FOI application should do so within three to seven days without delay.
“If applications are refused, this should be done in a concise and transparent manner, with clear rules and guidelines, as well as time (given) to dispute or appeal the decision,” he said.
“There must be clear guidelines but not restrictive for the public…for example, students, media, NGOs and those who need the data for work should be able to get the information they need,” he told The Vibes.
Regarding the OSA, Radzi said it should be used less.
“The government should make clear distinctions on what should and should not be made public before classifying them under the act,” he said.
“If meeting minutes on things like some tender negotiations and water concessions are under OSA, then no progress is being made in our move to be more transparent and corruption-free,” Radzi added.
Photocopying fees: another obstacle
Aliran president Anil Netto said the FOI Act would be useful for journalists doing articles requiring a lot of research.
On the other hand, it would have little bearing if media practitioners were to source news from press conferences, he opined.
He also warned of other obstacles in giving the public easy access to information, such as photocopy fees for government documents that cannot be removed.
“Additional charges for photocopying services of government documents can be expensive.
“Charging RM1 for each page of photocopy is expensive. Some documents would have many pages and some are even in volumes,” the activist with the Penang-based civil society group said.
Such fees would make it difficult for media practitioners to source crucial information, especially freelance journalists with no financial backing and newsrooms with tight budgets.
Anil also pointed out that even with an FOI act, there must be a “third party” like local councils to ensure that information or documents on controversial mega-projects are not placed under OSA.
“A third party is needed to supervise to prevent things like graft (that can be hidden under OSA),” Anil explained.
Both Anil and Meenakshi also encouraged the federal government to refer to the shortcomings of FOI laws in Penang and Selangor before crafting one at the federal level, so that it would not be a failure.
Last week, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Ramkarpal Singh said in addition to an FOI Act, the government also plans for an Information Commission.
The commission would be an independent body to regulate and ensure compliance with the FOI law and have the power to hear appeals.
He also said the FOI bill would be tabled in Parliament in October. – The Vibes, March 3, 2023
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