CIVIL society groups have slammed the government for keeping the Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) report a state secret, saying that the move showed Putrajaya’s lack of transparency when it comes to issues of public interest.

Instead of “hiding behind” the Official Secrets Act (OSA), Putrajaya should make transparency the cornerstone of its administration, said Cynthia Gabriel of the Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Centre).

She said that while certain parts of the CEP report likely concerned sensitive issues regarding race and the economy, the government should at least reveal the recommendations of the Institutional Reforms Committee (IRC), which were part of the report.

“Given high public interest… the recommendations of the IRC must be shared without fear, as these are proposals for the country to reform and move forward. 

“Nothing sensitive in this. This is the only way for a new Malaysia to be born,” said Cynthia.

She said that the CEP report would likely contain three key parts – the IRC’s proposals, the council’s key recommendations, and findings of a 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) investigative committee.

Yesterday, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohamed Hanipa Maidin said in Parliament that the CEP report would remain under wraps as it contained confidential information.

Members of the CEP, which was formed after Pakatan Harapan won the last general election, included former finance minister Daim Zainuddin, economist K.S. Jomo, former Bank Negara governor Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, former Petronas chairman Hassan Marican and billionaire tycoon Robert Kuok.

The CEP was dismantled after PH’s first 100 days in government.

Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) president Akhbar Satar said the public had the right to know the truth, and that the OSA should only be used for reports with potential repercussions on national security.

The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) said instead of falling back on the OSA, Putrajaya should be reviewing the archaic law and working to enact a freedom of information act.

“Only documents pertaining to national security, defence and international relations, or other clearly and narrowly defined criteria should be confined to secrecy,” it said in a statement yesterday.

“At the moment, under the OSA, any document can be classified secret once it has been certified as such by a public officer. The courts have no jurisdiction to review whether or not a document should be considered secret.”

The group said that in the past, documents such as highway concession agreements, air pollution index reports and the Auditor-General’s Report on 1MDB, were all classified as secret.

“This is clearly not an acceptable state of affairs. The Pakatan Harapan manifesto promised under Promise 14 to revise the Official Secrets Act 1972 and to enact a freedom of information act, with financial provisions to implement this new act.”

Johor Baru MP Akmal Nasir said that while the government had the right to decide if the CEP report should be a state secret due to sensitive matters, he urged Putrajaya to declassify the report at some point.

“It is important for the report to be kept under the OSA but it should only be for a certain period,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

“In other countries for example, although such documents may be tied to national security, it is only secret for a certain time, after which it will be accessible by the public.”

Ipoh Timur MP Wong Kah Wong also said the report’s revelations could serve as a guide on how not to repeat the mistakes of the past administration.

He said it would be wise for the government to make the report public, adding that elements that warranted confidentiality could be kept secret.

Meanwhile, Deputy Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Sim Tze  Tzin said while sentiments against keeping the report secret was understandable, the fact that its contents could potentially disrupt the smooth running of the government should also be taken into consideration.

“While we try our best to become a transparent nation, there are things that should be kept a secret.” – March 29, 2019.