FOI: Keeping the lid open

The proposed Federal Freedom of Information Bill represents a critical milestone in Malaysia’s long struggle for transparency, yet its ultimate success depends on dismantling a deeply entrenched culture of secrecy. Simply enacting legislation is insufficient; the law must effectively replace the legacy of opacity with a principle of openness-by-default. This shift is essential to ensure that government-held information, funded by public taxes, is recognized as a public good rather than being withheld under the guise of administrative convenience or historical precedent. A major obstacle to achieving true transparency is the frequent misuse of the Official Secrets Act and privacy concerns to block access to information. Legal experts emphasize that privacy rights apply to individuals, not state institutions, and that national security exemptions are often misapplied to withhold data that does not genuinely threaten safety. Harmonizing the Official Secrets Act with the new FOI law is crucial to clarify that security measures are specific restrictions on expression, not broad shields for non-disclosure, thereby preventing civil servants from using bureaucratic ambiguity to deny legitimate requests. To guarantee the law’s effectiveness, Malaysia should adopt an international standard three-part test for withholding information: verifying a specific legitimate aim, assessing actual harm, and weighing it against the public interest. This framework ensures that decisions to keep information secret are precise and justified, rather than sweeping generalizations. Ultimately, the relevance of this development to open data lies in its potential to establish clear, accessible pathways for citizens to obtain government information, fostering a more accountable and informed democracy.

Source: thestar.com.my
Published on 2025-12-01

FOI: Keeping the lid open

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