IN this internet age, information is available at the snap of a finger.

But is the information reliable? Some people are sceptical while others are more convinced of the information available about the pandemic and Covid-19. 

The federal government has gazetted the Emergency (Essential Powers) (No.2) Ordinance 2021 (the Fake News Ordinance) in 2021 fight the proliferation of fake news. 

While civil society has challenged the need for such a law, we must admit that fake news and the speed at which they circulate are a growing problem.
 
At the same time, one fears that such laws could be abused to silence dissent.

Right to information 

In a United Nations (UN) report, human rights experts clearly stated that national security and public order cannot be used as an excuse by the government agencies to deny people the right to know about important issues of public interest.

An informed public can make informed decisions, understand the role of government (and its limitations), and therefore can offer more appropriate and sensible suggestions.

Conversely, governments would be held more accountable for the policies they implement because they are monitored by the public via periodically published data.

The CovidNow website is a good example of how collaboration between the government and members of civil society on big data analysis of Covid-19 outbreaks in Malaysia can facilitate the delivery of meaningful information access for the public.

However, in the past two years of the pandemic, members of civil society as well as journalists have been called up by police for investigation for sharing information.
 
A few were even arrested for allegedly spreading inaccurate information about Covid-19. In particular, CodeBlue, a medical news portal had its editor-in-chief summoned for questioning after it published a report about an alleged outbreak at a vaccination centre in Shah Alam.

The article in question is entitled “Volunteers claim Selangor PPV hid Covid-19 cases, no mass testing or SOP”. Although the editor was not charge, the case is indicative of the federal government’s lack of data transparency which makes it difficult for the citizens to research oversight over its policies.
 
One recalls the case of the Al Jazeera documentary entitled “Locked up in Malaysia lockdown’ in 2020. The health minister denied that the government discriminated against undocumented immigrants in its enforcement of the Covid-19 movement control order (MCO).

The government subsequently investigated into the international media outlet for not having applied for a film production licence and filming permit from the National Film Development Corporation. The actions were heavily criticised by civil society for being an attack on press freedom.

Data governance

Many mistakenly think that only academics, data scientists and policy researchers need access to data.

Some countries have laws such as the Official Secrets Act also have a Right to Information Act to guarantee the people’s right to know.

Unfortunately, Malaysia only has the Official Secrets Act (OSA) 1972 which protects state’ secrets. However, it also limits the government’s accountability and impedes social development.

Nevertheless, public data governance has seen some improvement in recent years. 

The government established the public data website – data.gov.my” – in 2014 to allow the public to search and access data they need.

The Statistics Department is another public data authority; it provides a population census. demographic statistics, and the unemployment and inflation rates, among others/

While the government is working on improving the access of public data, it still has a long way to go towards an open data policy.

Every  government agency practise different standard operating practices on data.

Data available online are sometimes badly organised, incomplete, unprocessed, or out of date.

In some cases, official data needs to be purchased at a price that is not affordable to the general public.

Information is power

Disclosure of public data and a data-sharing culture is beneficial to social development and raises civic awareness, building trust and encouraging engagement between the government and civil society.

Laws such as the OSA and the Anti-Fake News Ordinance are hindering freedom of expression and the right to information.

The country would be in much better hands if there are laws and ordinances set up to ensure the right to information, and also to check and balance the other ordinances which could be abused by politics.

A comprehensive legal and policy framework on data sharing and data governance can be further developed if the government works with multi stakeholders such as the research community, data scientists and civic groups. – April 25, 2022.

* Esther Sinirisan Chong is a member of Agora Society. She was born and raised in the Land Below the Wind. Her research interest lies in education and government policies, and the history and heritage of East Malaysia.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.