DAIM Zainuddin agreed with the growing call to make public the Council of Eminent Persons’s (CEP) 100-day report, but backed the government’s view that some of the information it contained were state secrets.

Daim said the report by the four-man council he chaired could serve as a basis for government feedback and debate.

“I would release it… release it to the public but it is not for me to decide. I was asked to chair the meetings and get the information, facts, analyse and make the recommendations. That is my role and I shouldn’t go beyond that,” he told The Star in an interview.

The report was prepared during Pakatan Harapan’s first 100 days in Putrajaya following the shock defeat of Barisan Nasional in the May 9 general election.

In a parliamentary session on Thursday, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohamed Hanipa Maidin said the CEP report was classified under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and would not be made public.

“It was submitted to the prime minister and the government does not intend to make the findings public,” Hanipa said.

The line drew criticism from civil society groups and lawmakers, who slammed Putrajaya for lacking transparency.

Daim agreed releasing the report would enhance openness, debate and transparency, but maintained it was the government’s decision to make.

He said that while he was all for sharing information and debate, “there is information in the report that rightly is under Official Secrets Act (OSA).”

Daim said the report was prepared for Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the CEP’s original mission was to assure investors and help to provide market stability as the cabinet was then not yet formed.

“Before that, no one thought (BN) was going to lose – even investors. They, the investors, want continuity and suddenly this happened. The PM wanted to calm the markets.

“We were given 100 days to get all the information, which we did. We submitted (recommendations on) about 70 topics.

“We briefed the PM and some of it were highly technical. In the end, it is up to the government (to release the CEP report),” he was quoted as saying by The Star.

Apart from Daim, CEP members were economist K.S. Jomo, former Bank Negara governor Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, former Petronas chairman Hassan Marican, and billionaire tycoon Robert Kuok. – March 30, 2019.