PUTRAJAYA: The Freedom of Information Bill 2026 will be scrutinised by a Parliamentary Select Committee before it is tabled in Parliament, says Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) said the first meeting on the Bill, which she will chair today, will focus on finalising the terms of reference.
The committee is then expected to submit its recommendations and findings before the next parliamentary sitting.
“We’re getting bipartisan participation with the Select Committee, where we’ll be looking into the terms of reference,” she told reporters after the monthly staff gathering yesterday, Bernama reported.
Azalina said the committee will also take into account various views submitted by stakeholders, including non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and professional bodies.
“I think there are many concerns, especially on the bulk of the Bill.
“If you observe the comments by NGOs and certain fraternities, they’re saying that the Bill should be much wider. So we will evaluate it,” she said.
On July 13, Azalina said the government would table a motion to refer the Bill to the Select Committee, allowing a more thorough examination through engagements with MPs and stakeholders.
The Bill seeks to establish a procedural mechanism to regulate requests for access to information under the control of public authorities.
It provides that any Malaysian citizen, aged 18 and above, is eligible to make a written application for access to official information.
However, according to the official published draft of the Bill on Parliament’s official portal, the mechanism preserves the application of existing secrecy laws, exempting information classified under the Official Secrets Act, as well as other documents whose disclosure is prohibited or protected under any written law.
