By Neville Spykerman
SHAH ALAM, Nov 24 – The Selangor Government today wrote to the Najib Administration to push for the full disclosure of the Bukit Antarabangsa landslide report for the sake of victims of the tragedy.
The government headed by Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim (pic) had to backpedal yesterday on its decision to make the report public after Putrajaya pointed out that only a Federal Minister can declassify the report from the Public Works Department (PWD), a federal agency.
“It is a mystery why this information is so secret,” Ronnie Liu, who is a Selangor state executive councillor, remarked.
Sources in state government told The Malaysian Insider that it is up to the Federal Government to explain why the report is still classified under the Official Secrets Act (OSA).
Works Ministry deputy minister Datuk Liew Vui Keong had said Khalid “may” have breached the OSA when he released the report last Wednesday.
The landslide last Dec 6, which claimed five lives, destroyed 14 bungalows besides and caused damage costing millions of ringgit, was investigated by a technical committee headed by the PWD’s Slope Engineering division, together with 11 other agencies which later identified a leaking pipe as the main cause.
The state had previously urged the PWD to make to documents available to the public but were told that their hands were tied because the documents was classified by the Works Ministry.
Khalid then used his powers under the OSA to declassify the report but landslide victims who went to the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) yesterday, where the reports was supposed to be available to them at cost, left empty handed after the state pulled the plug on the move following threats from the federal government.
“It is unfortunate the federal government has threatened to take legal action against the state for releasing the information,” Liu said.
While Khalid may have the powers to declassify documents made secret by his predecessors or former Selangor mentri besars, the jury is still out on whether he can exercise the same authority on documents classified by federal agencies or ministries.
Debate is also still raging on whether Khalid had violated the OSA by releasing a summary of the investigation report, last Wednesday.
Liu disclosed that two legal firms were appointed to study the Mentri Besar’s move to declassify the technical report, adding he believed the report should not have been classified under the OSA because it does not concern national security.
“If the federal government does not want the Mentri Besar to declassify the document, then they should do so themselves,” he added.
Meanwhile Klang MP Charles Santiago said the state should give the federal government a week to declassify the report before proceeding to make it available to the public.
The mentri besar, as the state leader, should be allowed to do what is right and in the best interest of the people, said Santiago.
He also questioned Putrajaya’s motive in trying to keep the investigation report secret.
“How will that help the victims who lost love ones, homes and who have suffered losses?” asked Santiago.
“Instead, they seem to be more interested in protecting the water company which is responsible for the leaking pipe that caused the landslide, rather than the victims,” he said.
The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) also came out to support Selangor’s initiative to make the public report and objected to the Federal Government’s defence of the OSA.
“For the public and especially families of those who died in the tragic incident, it is illogical that a report detailing the probable causes of the landslide, findings on the safety of the area and possible recommendations for future planning, is kept secret.
“The public should question whether the government has something to hide and not claim any responsibility.
“In addition, the public should also question the real reasons the OSA is still defended and used by the Barisan Nasional government where public safety, security and interests have clearly been compromised,” the CIJ’s executive director Gayathry Venkiteswaran said in a statement.
She stressed the time had come for all governments to commit to a more open and transparent governance by releasing to the public all documents now classified under the OSA, and to move towards replacing the law with a Freedom of Information Act.
“The public must demand for these reforms as it is their right to be informed and to know,” Gayathry added.
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