PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill needs to be redrafted to align with international human rights law and standards, say social activist groups.
Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism, the Centre for Independent Journalism and various activist organisations have called on the Parliamentary Special Select Committee (PSSC) to take urgent action after the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) ranked the Bill 137th out of 142 countries.
“The CLD has rated the FOI Bill a 47 out of 150 points based on its Right to Information (RTI) Rating indicators, placing it sixth from the bottom among countries worldwide that have RTI or FOI laws.
“This finding reinforces the concerns raised by our organisations. The Bill, tabled for its first reading in Parliament on July 13, fails to meet international human rights law and standards,” they said in a joint statement.
While the government has reiterated its commitment to combating corruption and improving governance, the group claimed the Bill does not reflect those stated ambitions.
“It is not too late to redraft this Bill to ensure it aligns with international law and standards.”
The Bill, they further claimed, also does not provide for any effective oversight or administration by an independent authority.
“Under the Bill, the Ombudsman established under the Ombudsman Act will conduct an external review.
“However, the Ombudsman currently does not exist, and there is no clarity on when or how the position will be established,” the statement said.
The group pointed out that the CLD recommends that the Bill should set overriding standards for all secrecy provisions.
“We urge the PSSC to conduct a comprehensive review of the Bill, with due consideration of the recommendations received from all relevant stakeholders.”
