Civil society strongly protests the prime minister’s decision to keep the Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) 100-day report secret simply by saying it is the government’s business.
He has also announced that the Official Secrets Act 1972 (OSA) will stay despite the Pakatan Harapan coalition’s promised revision prior to GE14.
This is in total contradiction to the new government’s commitment to total transparency during the exposés of the Najib Abdul Razak administration just after the May elections.
He has also announced that the Official Secrets Act 1972 (OSA) will stay despite the Pakatan Harapan coalition’s promised revision prior to GE14.
This is in total contradiction to the new government’s commitment to total transparency during the exposés of the Najib Abdul Razak administration just after the May elections.
Refusal to be complicit
NGOs like Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) that submitted their reports to the Institutional Reforms Committee (IRC) certainly want their submissions to be made public so that the public knows that we are not complicit in the new government’s reneging on their GE14 promises.
Since the May elections, many of our human rights demands have not been met and these include not just the OSA but also detention-without-trial laws, the Sedition Act 1948, child marriages, harassment of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and queer (LGBTQ) community and the violations of indigenous peoples’ rights.
If the Harapan government does not make the CEP report public, the people may think that the government acted on our recommendations. Thus, I would like to suggest that the Harapan government releases the IRC report since it was submitted separately to the CEP.
NGOs like Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) that submitted their reports to the Institutional Reforms Committee (IRC) certainly want their submissions to be made public so that the public knows that we are not complicit in the new government’s reneging on their GE14 promises.
Since the May elections, many of our human rights demands have not been met and these include not just the OSA but also detention-without-trial laws, the Sedition Act 1948, child marriages, harassment of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and queer (LGBTQ) community and the violations of indigenous peoples’ rights.
If the Harapan government does not make the CEP report public, the people may think that the government acted on our recommendations. Thus, I would like to suggest that the Harapan government releases the IRC report since it was submitted separately to the CEP.
CEP’s reputation at stake
The old BN government used to say that the OSA was needed for national security. Now, the new Harapan government says that submissions to the CEP are “sensitive” and that some businesses may suffer.
Really? Does it justify PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli’s charges under the OSA then since he wasn’t sensitive enough to the health of the corporation he was exposing? After the cows and condos scandal he raised to deserve the charges under the OSA, he might well say, “What a load of bullocks!”
The CEP needs to be reminded that they will be held culpable in Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s recent decisions, which are not just contradictory to the Harapan manifesto but look like the repeat of Mahathir 1.0.
These include the announcement that sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional will be privatised for bumiputera interests and the new national car project Proton 2.0.
Presumably, the prime minister was advised by his Council of Eminent Persons on these decisions. If not, how are we to know when the CEP report is kept secret? I am afraid they will have to live with their tarnished reputation.
Harapan reneging on more promises
This is what was promised to Malaysians in the coalition’s Buku Harapan by Harapan leader Zaid Ibrahim:
“A promise that the Official Secrets Act 1972 in its current form will be repealed will tell Malaysians that corrupt leaders can no longer hide behind draconian legislation. If this act is repealed, our ministers, top civil servants and police chiefs in future will no longer be so filthy rich to steal as they like. It will tell the people that those in the government will not be able to classify documents as official secrets at whim. With this act of revocation, those who have stolen government property will find themselves facing the attention of the world…”
If I quoted all the statements condemning the OSA by former dissidents who now sit in the new government, they would run into reams.
I still remember the rousing speeches against the OSA by all these former “democrats” since the seventies. These are recorded in a publication by eco-activist Gurmit Singh KS during the eighties titled: “No to Secrecy: The campaign against 1986's amendments to the OSA”.
Even more recently on Aug 17, 2017, DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang told a forum that “the Pakatan Harapan coalition will repeal the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and replace it with and a new Freedom of Information Act if it comes into power at the next elections…we are committed to work towards the repeal of the OSA and fight for its inclusion in the Pakatan Harapan manifesto to show its commitment to transparency in line with the spirit of the ‘New Malaysia’”.
The infringement of the rule of law by the OSA was best summed up by Param Cumaraswamy, then president of the Malaysian Bar in 1986:
“With the definition of official secret so wide, coupled with the one-year minimum sentence and the power of the courts curtailed, there is no doubt that the OSA infringes the concept of the rule of law. It confers wide discretionary powers on public officers without adequate protection against abuse. The powers of our courts, which are traditionally the guardians of our freedoms, will be curtailed. The right to free speech and expression guaranteed under our Constitution will be unduly restricted…”
KUA KIA SOONG is Suaram adviser.
The OSA should be replaced or amended to prevent the many cases of past abuse.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there is no such thing as a penalty-free exposure of important Government secrets.
Even very open societies such as US and UK still have laws penalising officials who leak secret or confidential government information.
re your "However, there is no such thing as a penalty-free exposure of important Government secrets" have you checked with Mat Sabu and his supporters?
DeleteOui… toad with artificial pearls.
DeleteWhen r u going to learn that disclosing an open secret about the 'unfliability' of the tudm hardware IS no military secret le!
Perhaps u need hippo's kiss to turn u into a believable 'prince' to add weight to yr fart!
The Minister has the right to speak on matters of policy.
DeleteYeah right. Previously, PH were barking mad about the Government for not being transparent about everything even to the capabilities of our military hardware and asset located at all times to the public. Now the tables has turned but the heart has turned weak. Not so easy & straightforward being the Government now, huh?
DeleteMethinks all the crooks and their supporters in the previous regime are the ones most interested in the CEP Report and their recommendations to know whether they will be implicated or whether they will be hauled up by the enforcement authorities and thus before it is due, have time to stash their loot, erase or destroy evidences, witnesses etc.
ReplyDeleteThe MACC, AG, PDRM all needs time to investigate so many cases of corruption, abuses and frame charges and before all these can be completed, certain CEP reports and recommendations will definitely need to be kept as secrets.
The CEP Report should however in due time be made public once all the investigations and charges are all filed in courts which all civil rights movements should ask for to ensure accountability for actions or decisions taken. Perhaps an alternative solution can be found whereby parts of which are not detrimental to ongoing investigations can be released to satisfy those hungry for information in the name of transparency and integrity of the PH Govt.
As regards the OSA, the PH Govt. is already in the process of replacing with the Freedom of Information Act and thus i wonder why so much tantrums continue to be thrown every now and then by the Suaram Adviser. It is amazing he has suddenly found so much voice unlike before during the rule of the previous BN regime when every right was being trampled on everyday and he was so muted. Of all critics, surely he knows that the topics he is criticizing involves time to process and reenact new laws instead of suggesting time delays means the erosion of civil rights. There are no instant noodles in enacting or repealing existing laws.
There are suspicions he may have been turned to create instability and pressure the PH Govt. using SUARAM as a proxy. Whether it is for monetary profits or his personal glorification to remain relevant to some parties, only time will tell.
Still wondering why his version of championing civil rights is restricted to some controversial political topics only but not others.
Lies built upon lies. A Government raised up like a house of cards. Fancy, spectacular in feat, impressive, but all too fragile and will crumble at the first sign of strong wind.
ReplyDeleteBleeding hearts take note. So do the provocateurs with hidden big udang.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, can ANY ONE country in the world claims not to have an OSA!
OSA is part & parcel of good governance, just like misusage of FOI could lead to administration stalemate!
But how many of u can understand/see the real issues, trapped within these acts, with yr own silo & selfish opinions?
It's not the osa per se that's in question. It's the misuse of the act that causes injustices!
To prevent its misfeasance, strong check & balance mechanism MUST be in place. In this regards, Suaram's fart is as dumb as a suaku shit.
Remember, the road to hell is paved with good intentions! The road is good governance, the osa the good intention, & the misusage/twisting of that intention leading to hell.
Back to osa-ed the CEP report. Have anyone asked WHY - when it's Prof Jomo that voiced about osa-ed of the report! This comes from a person of his indisputable standing about good governance!
How many of u could think of some info so vital to the current administration that those facts MUST be kept secret, away from the 'general' masses of the ketuanan freaks & zombies?
How about:
1) the abolishing of the NEP
2) official declaration of a secular state
3) rephrasing of the FedConst of clause 153
These r just 3 of the many that WILL cause havocs from those amok-inclined ketuanan freaks & zombies.
These lowlifes have not reached the level of humanity maturity to accept these changes open-heartededly. More so they have been indoctrinated/cultured to protect these tongkats for so long that these have become their untouchable entitlements!
CEP recommendations, no matter how controversial, r one thing. Implementing them r another, when the govt to be has to look into the VERY real current sopo situation.
Thus, these recommendations r BEST to be kept in lock for the time being, until these lowlifes' violent objections CAN be readily be dealed with in a proper & just manner.
Otherwise, their disclosure WILL inevitably lead to unnecessary havocs & racio-religious confrontations that the current govt is unable to handle spaced amongst many difficult ongoing sopo-economical issues facing the country.
Sembang siang pandang2
DeleteSembang malam dengar2
'Higher lifes'kunun.. x sedar diuntung
The wheel of life is always turning
Buta
DeleteHati kau terus leka
Kerana APA?
Kerana kau si anak derhaka
Sedar!
Kau hidup bukan kerna pacar
Kau hidup kerna Maha Akbar
Let’s be sensible. The Five Eminent Persons should be given immunity from being sued first. Give immunity also to the persons interviewed. A lot of information given to the COE may be incriminating to themselves or others.
ReplyDeleteHahaha
DeletePaku dulang paku serpih...
Lebih baik dari laporan AG pasal 1MDB, dirahsia bawah OSA. Bila kerajaan Harapan masuk baru dibuka umum.
DeleteAn inconvenient truth is still the truth even if you prefer to live in a lie.
DeleteAll governments, including very open democracies reserve the right to consult with individuals or groups, both openly and in confidence.
ReplyDeleteThese are consultations, not executive decisions.
Sometimes the input may come with subjective opinions, or negative views of certain people or groups. If everything is open kimono, that exposes both the Government and the persons who gave the input to accusations or even lawsuits for defamation.
Then in future, nobody will bother to give their input, especially on controversial issues.
Talking about transparency our national budget has always been done in secret with the various ministries and PMO hiding all the fat and excesses.
ReplyDeleteNow our new powerful Finance Minister is taking action. No more “last year’s budget plus 10%”. Budget numbers must be justified from zero. All waste and fat to be cut out. I would not be surprised if after this exercise we can target to achieve balanced budget in 2019 itself.
I’m Lovin’ It !!!
QUOTE
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has announced the formation of a Public Finance Committee (PFC), which he will chair, as part of the government's fiscal consolidation agenda to reduce debt to 2.8 percent of the GDP this year.
Lim said the PFC, which will also comprise Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali (below) and Bank Negara governor Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus, will "outline the government’s medium-term fiscal plans" and balance government spending with economic growth
UNQUOTE
Hey let’s be transparent. If ex-MP JJ really accumulated 2.1 B legally then fine but can the IRB please confirm this from his tax returns? Or was he holding this money for a certain political party?
ReplyDeleteHello you Punk... "The person has died tragically and there no need to slander or second-guess him – or at the very least, please do try and search a bit more about the person before you accuse him".
DeleteMmm...a mere MP could accumulate 2.1 Billion with no apparent businesses visible for all to see. From this, one could conservatively surmise that these Umno crooks from the top to at least 5 layers deep into the lower ranks easily hold among themselves 1500 Billions. Too bad we can't emulate Crown Prince MBS of Saudi to round them all up in a hotel and will only let them out after they have spilled out 90% of their ill-gotten gains and thus in one fell swoop, clear our national debt ! No, no we are too transparent and clean and ethical for such behavior to get our money back, sob sob.
DeleteWakaka..the late Raba-Raba JJ left behind a fortune of RM 2.2 Billion.
DeleteI am sure it was all earned through his hard work and amazing business acumen... believe it ...or not...
The MOST hilarious part is mom is trying hard to justify crony jj's fortune!
DeleteA PhD electrical engineer by training, so what?
Listed a company in klse, so what?
How many real trained professionals have gone through the same processes, while working their butts out days & nights for a longer time than this umno crony, w/o gaining anywhere near that billionaire status!
The only conclusion is jj was lucky to be jibby's sekampong pal whom jibby/hippo could trust as a moneybag boy!
JJ's eventual fate of dying in a helicopter crash in April 2015 to meet his maker SHOULD provide enough thought for the zombies to ponder while reciting salam to their god!
An intrigue thing can be drawn out from his mother's application for faraid (inheritance and wealth distribution) certificate over the deceased’s RM2.082bil estate.
Since Jamaluddin did not leave a will and the percentage of the wealth distribution will follow the faraid law NATURALLY!
& yet his mother's affidavit claim of “I solely believe that myself and the other heirs have a rightful claim over the deceased’s estate,” IS deliberately obscure or ambiguous!
Why the need to double affirm the terms of syariah inheritance rule?
Unless there r unknown legal clauses preventing the natural flow of the syriah jurisdiction!
Hmmmm… could it be bcoz most of these wealth r ACTUALLY proxy fund that jj was nominated to?
Who actually owns these money?
& wealth holding in trust by trusted nomibees has been umno's war chest since Razak's time!
Let the beginning of the end story of umno unfolds……
Wakakakaka
Punk???
DeleteJust because JJ was dead doesn’t mean his extraordinary wealth cannot be questioned. If a man’s ill-gotten fortune is automatically made legitimate after he died, then drug lord Pablo Escobar, gangster Al-Capone and dictator Ferdinand Marcos’s dirty money should become legitimate overnight and belonged to their family members after their death.
Moron!
Normally , when a person dies with clearly identifiable legal heirs, the settlement of his estate is reasonably straightforward.
DeleteNow, his mother making the legal claim implies
A. There is external interference in the inheritance case, with outside claimant parties who are not the legal heirs.
B. Or..the RM 2.10 Billion is actually not his....money laundering ? Like his buddy Najib's Billions ?
C. Or, it's his money alright, but it's Duid Haram, not legally earned.
Here’s Citizen Nades’ take and research:
ReplyDeleteQUOTE
Doing the math, Jamaluddin's RM2.1b doesn't quite add up
R Nadeswaran
30 Aug 2018
Growing up, children are always inculcated with values and taught not to offend anyone's feelings. "Don't speak ill of the dead" would be one of them. Even with someone you despise for his or her deceit, hypocrisy and less complementary qualities, the expressions and feelings are exposed in soft murmurs upon his death. Often, praises are sung of the dead and the departed irrespective of his or her not-so-savoury character.
Sometimes, even death is politicised. This week John McCain took his fight with Donald Trump to the grave. He didn't want him anywhere near his funeral. He argued that the US president's demeanour, populist style and global outlook as antithetical to America's founding values and global.
Today, I don't intend to break that often-drilled value, but have chosen to do some calculations and justifications in the interest of the public. I am not passing any judgement; I am not casting any aspersions on the dead or his family members; and I don't intend to touch on the on-going dispute between family members.
The social media has gone on overdrive immediately after news that the estate of former cabinet minister Jamaluddin Jarjis was worth RM2.1 billion. I have no intention of joining the ranks of a few who have been rude and crude. Instead, I will put the facts and figures that are available, for the purposes of discussion.
The late minister was born in 1951 and was 64 at the time of a helicopter crash in 2015 in which he died. We are told he qualified as an engineer from the University of Manchester. Thereafter, he went for postgraduate courses in a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering and a PhD in Electrical Engineering (Power Systems) at University of Manitoba and McGill University in Canada respectively.
Assuming he started work in the private sector in 1976 (at the tender age of 25), he would have (as a young graduate at that time) earned RM40,000 annually....
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How come Malaysia's Top 50 richest lists does not have names of JJ, Najib, Jho Low, UMNO warlords, MCA warlords, MIC warlords, Sabah and Sarawak BN warlords etc etc.
ReplyDeleteIf it were to be top 100 richest Malaysians, my bet is more than 60% of them are politicians.
As I said, Transparency, Transparency, Transparency. Even Transparency International agrees with me.
ReplyDeleteQUOTE
How did Jarjis make so much money, asks anti-corruption group
Kamles Kumar
Transparency International-Malaysia chairman Akhbar Satar has questioned the source of late former minister Jamaluddin Jarjis after his mother filed a claim for RM2.1 billion in inheritance. – The Malaysian Insight.
August 30, 2018.
AN international anti-graft group questioned where was the source of the late Jamaluddin Jarjis’s wealth after his properties alone were valued at RM2.1 billion.
Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) chairman Akhbar Satar said the former minister was not from a well-off family and had not made his money professionally.
UNQUOTE