http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/3/23/parliament/17229528&sec=parliament
Parliament
Friday March 23, 2007
AN MP has called for the setting up of a select committee to promote freedom of the press and to reform laws that restrict them.
Wong Nai Chee (BN-Kota Melaka) said the committee’s role would be to see the extent of press freedom in the country, rationalise existing laws that overlap with other laws and review the provision that allows the minister to revoke the permits of media firms.
In supporting the motion of thanks to the King for his royal address, Wong cited the Printing and Presses Act, Sedition Act, Official Secrets Act and the Internal Security Act as having overlapping provisions and restricting the media.
“These laws create a situation of media self-censorship. Too many of these laws also cause a situation where the newsroom can receive calls from people, including politicians, advising them to do something or face having their permits revoked,” he said.
Wong added that the time had come for there to be a direction for press freedom in Malaysia and said he was not calling for absolute freedom but for the media to project the real situation in the country, without fear or favour.
“The acid test for media freedom is in the reporting of political and economic news, which tend to be more controversial and can paint a less favourable picture of the Government,” he said.
Media freedom, he said, would create an open society and allow accurate information to be disseminated, so that the country could be better administered.
At this point, Mohd Said Yusof (BN-Jasin) stood up and said that a major English newspaper was the only paper that did not report the opening of the Parliament meeting by the King on Monday but instead highlighted a lock-up report.
“I am perplexed because this paper did not respect the event in the August House that was officiated by the King,” Mohd Said said.
In response, Wong said: “This is part of media freedom, for the newspaper to freely choose its news item. There is no problem as long as the report is accurate.”
On the right to information, he said that public documents such as Environment Impact Assessment reports and toll agreements should be open to public scrutiny.
However, he said, this should not include documents on national defence, national security, international relations, Cabinet and state exco documents, enforcement of law and public order and personal data.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Tighten the reins on concessions
theSun Says
Tighten the reins on concessions
Updated: 05:03PM Thu, 22 Mar 2007
Now it is known: Road users have paid a whopping RM23.656 billion in tolls since 1988, when the first highway was commissioned.
Without doubt, this information, in Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy
Vellu's written reply to Teresa Kok (DAP - Seputeh) in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday, has been a long time coming.
So, it certainly marks a milestone in public access to information, after
the long-standing clamour of the people to be told why they have been
saddled with highway concession agreements that are so generous to the concession holders.
Therein lies the rub: it boggles the mind that road users will be paying
toll for using the North-South Expressway, for example, until 2038, although the collection of RM15.91 billion to date has already exceeded the construction cost of the highway by 2.7 times.
Surely this is ridiculously in excess of any incentive that the private
sector needs for relieving the government of the financial burden of
infrastructure development.
It, therefore, needs to be emphasised that the authorities cannot afford to be so liberal with their responsibility for delivering the fruits of
development to the people.
This is especially so when higher transportation costs are borne directly by the road-using public and indirectly when the people pay a higher price for costlier goods and services.
The injustice is compounded when commuters are forced to use high-cost private transport because the public transport system does not deliver reliability and convenience.
All said, the revelation on road tolls merely re-emphasises the need for a much more stringent control over privatisation. The alternative, i.e.
transferring the costs to the consuming public, cannot claim legitimacy
without a truly open and accountable consultation with the fee-paying
public.
Tighten the reins on concessions
Updated: 05:03PM Thu, 22 Mar 2007
Now it is known: Road users have paid a whopping RM23.656 billion in tolls since 1988, when the first highway was commissioned.
Without doubt, this information, in Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy
Vellu's written reply to Teresa Kok (DAP - Seputeh) in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday, has been a long time coming.
So, it certainly marks a milestone in public access to information, after
the long-standing clamour of the people to be told why they have been
saddled with highway concession agreements that are so generous to the concession holders.
Therein lies the rub: it boggles the mind that road users will be paying
toll for using the North-South Expressway, for example, until 2038, although the collection of RM15.91 billion to date has already exceeded the construction cost of the highway by 2.7 times.
Surely this is ridiculously in excess of any incentive that the private
sector needs for relieving the government of the financial burden of
infrastructure development.
It, therefore, needs to be emphasised that the authorities cannot afford to be so liberal with their responsibility for delivering the fruits of
development to the people.
This is especially so when higher transportation costs are borne directly by the road-using public and indirectly when the people pay a higher price for costlier goods and services.
The injustice is compounded when commuters are forced to use high-cost private transport because the public transport system does not deliver reliability and convenience.
All said, the revelation on road tolls merely re-emphasises the need for a much more stringent control over privatisation. The alternative, i.e.
transferring the costs to the consuming public, cannot claim legitimacy
without a truly open and accountable consultation with the fee-paying
public.
We'll lose out without US trade deal
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/64769
Mar 20, 07 4:28pm
Malaysia will fail to woo crucial investment from the United States and bolster exports to its biggest trading partner without a bilateral free trade deal, Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz warned today.
"I like to emphasise that without a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, it is estimated that Malaysia will lose out in increasing exports to the country," said Rafidah.
Rafidah has been pushing hard for a conclusion of the trade talks, now bogged down amid strong opposition from within the ruling government and local activists.
The two countries look set to miss a vital deadline by the end of March to cut out a deal, which would give the US Congress its requisite three months to consider and pass the FTA.
Washington has been trying to complete the FTA before July 1, when President George W Bush loses his Trade Promotion Authority which allows trade deals to be fast-tracked.
Rafidah said Malaysia will "lose its opportunity to attract more investments from the US" and from other countries that plan to use Malaysia as a production and export market to penetrate the US market.
"This agreement will increase US investments into Malaysia. It will also open up new markets for Malaysian goods," she said in a statement to Malaysian lawmakers.
Unresolved issues
The US government last week all but ruled out the chances of a deal with Malaysia before the deadline.
Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said Sunday that Malaysia will not set a timeframe to conclude a free trade deal with the United States.
No formal talks have been scheduled between the US and its 10th-largest trading partner after a fifth round of talks ended in February leaving 58 unresolved issues.
Among sore points for US trade negotiators are Malaysia's controversial positive discrimination policies for its majority-ethnic Malay community.
The policies give preferential treatment to Malay-run companies in the awarding of government contracts.
Malaysian farmers, activists and opposition parties have been demanding a halt to the talks, arguing a FTA would damage livelihoods.
Mar 20, 07 4:28pm
Malaysia will fail to woo crucial investment from the United States and bolster exports to its biggest trading partner without a bilateral free trade deal, Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz warned today.
"I like to emphasise that without a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, it is estimated that Malaysia will lose out in increasing exports to the country," said Rafidah.
Rafidah has been pushing hard for a conclusion of the trade talks, now bogged down amid strong opposition from within the ruling government and local activists.
The two countries look set to miss a vital deadline by the end of March to cut out a deal, which would give the US Congress its requisite three months to consider and pass the FTA.
Washington has been trying to complete the FTA before July 1, when President George W Bush loses his Trade Promotion Authority which allows trade deals to be fast-tracked.
Rafidah said Malaysia will "lose its opportunity to attract more investments from the US" and from other countries that plan to use Malaysia as a production and export market to penetrate the US market.
"This agreement will increase US investments into Malaysia. It will also open up new markets for Malaysian goods," she said in a statement to Malaysian lawmakers.
Unresolved issues
The US government last week all but ruled out the chances of a deal with Malaysia before the deadline.
Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said Sunday that Malaysia will not set a timeframe to conclude a free trade deal with the United States.
No formal talks have been scheduled between the US and its 10th-largest trading partner after a fifth round of talks ended in February leaving 58 unresolved issues.
Among sore points for US trade negotiators are Malaysia's controversial positive discrimination policies for its majority-ethnic Malay community.
The policies give preferential treatment to Malay-run companies in the awarding of government contracts.
Malaysian farmers, activists and opposition parties have been demanding a halt to the talks, arguing a FTA would damage livelihoods.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Classifying documents: Moving backwards on transparency
National Coalition for a Freedom of Information Act
c/o Centre for Independent Journalism
Press Statement
For Immediate Release
15 March 2007
We, the undersigned members of the National Coalition for a Freedom of Information Act are concerned that the Government is moving backwards on its pledge for transparency. Its decision to classify several more documents under the Official Secrets Act damages the perception that the government is serious about tackling corruption and institutionalising integrity. The documents in question are related to claims by contractors for extra funds for government projects.
This decision was taken after leaks to third parties had occurred. From local newspaper reports, it appears that this action was taken because the government has been made vulnerable in the past when contractors held the Claims Committee to payment decisions made and minuted in their own meetings.
The Public Works Department (PWD) director-general Datuk Wahid Omar said that this leaking of documents compromises the government's position should a dispute be taken to court. This clearly demonstrates a lack of transparency in government operations, and directly implies that the government has secrets to hide. Even in the example given by Datuk Wahid, where there is a dispute between the government official and the Claims Committee, there is no obvious reason why this situation in and of itself would put the government in a compromising position, unless the government reneges on the commitments it makes.
To openly show that no corruption is taking place, that no money is being siphoned off, and that the government is trying to be transparent, these documents, and any others like it, should be declassified.
Despite our government's continued talk of transparency and openness, they still have yet to show that they are taking this pledge to the rakyat seriously. The public are still waiting to see the agreements between the government and the toll concessionaires, refused information about health and water privatisation, and the government refuses to discuss the potential impact of the Malaysia-US Free Trade Agreement. Just two weeks ago, thirteen applicants and the Malaysian Trade Union Congress were told that they did not have locus standi to ask for an allegedly classified document relating to water privatisation.
The Coalition calls upon the government to declassify all the documents in question, repeal the OSA, and implement a Freedom of Information Act in its place.
Ends
Released by:
Sonia Randhawa
Executive Director
Centre for Independent Journalism
For more information, please contact Hwa Yi Xing at 03 4023 0772.
Endorsed by:
All Women's Action Society (AWAM)
Amnesty International Malaysia
Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ)
Pusat Komunikasi Masyarakat (KOMAS)
Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (SADIA)
Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)
Writers Alliance for Media Independence (WAMI)
c/o Centre for Independent Journalism
Press Statement
For Immediate Release
15 March 2007
We, the undersigned members of the National Coalition for a Freedom of Information Act are concerned that the Government is moving backwards on its pledge for transparency. Its decision to classify several more documents under the Official Secrets Act damages the perception that the government is serious about tackling corruption and institutionalising integrity. The documents in question are related to claims by contractors for extra funds for government projects.
This decision was taken after leaks to third parties had occurred. From local newspaper reports, it appears that this action was taken because the government has been made vulnerable in the past when contractors held the Claims Committee to payment decisions made and minuted in their own meetings.
The Public Works Department (PWD) director-general Datuk Wahid Omar said that this leaking of documents compromises the government's position should a dispute be taken to court. This clearly demonstrates a lack of transparency in government operations, and directly implies that the government has secrets to hide. Even in the example given by Datuk Wahid, where there is a dispute between the government official and the Claims Committee, there is no obvious reason why this situation in and of itself would put the government in a compromising position, unless the government reneges on the commitments it makes.
To openly show that no corruption is taking place, that no money is being siphoned off, and that the government is trying to be transparent, these documents, and any others like it, should be declassified.
Despite our government's continued talk of transparency and openness, they still have yet to show that they are taking this pledge to the rakyat seriously. The public are still waiting to see the agreements between the government and the toll concessionaires, refused information about health and water privatisation, and the government refuses to discuss the potential impact of the Malaysia-US Free Trade Agreement. Just two weeks ago, thirteen applicants and the Malaysian Trade Union Congress were told that they did not have locus standi to ask for an allegedly classified document relating to water privatisation.
The Coalition calls upon the government to declassify all the documents in question, repeal the OSA, and implement a Freedom of Information Act in its place.
Ends
Released by:
Sonia Randhawa
Executive Director
Centre for Independent Journalism
For more information, please contact Hwa Yi Xing at 03 4023 0772.
Endorsed by:
All Women's Action Society (AWAM)
Amnesty International Malaysia
Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ)
Pusat Komunikasi Masyarakat (KOMAS)
Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (SADIA)
Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)
Writers Alliance for Media Independence (WAMI)
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