DAP dares Mukhriz to reveal power deals
Published: Jun 8, 2011 1:57 PM | Updated: Jun 8, 2011 2:04 PM
DAP has dared International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Mukhriz Mahathir to prove his claim that MPs have access to the elusive power purchase agreements (PPAs).
DAP has dared International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Mukhriz Mahathir to prove his claim that MPs have access to the elusive power purchase agreements (PPAs).
In a statement today, DAP publicity chief Tony Pua said he was certain the PPAs between independent power producers (IPP) and Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) were classified under the Official Secrets Act 1972.
"I hope to be proven wrong and become a complete fool if Mukhriz can on Monday, June 13, when the second parliamentary sitting of the year commences, give each MP a copy of the IPP agreement.
"(It must be) attached with an undertaking from the attorney-general that MPs are not punishable under the OSA for having possession of these documents," said Pua (left), who is the Petaling Jaya MP.
Yesterday, Mukhriz told reporters that there cannot be a public disclosure of the PPAs because they contained a non-disclosure clause but MPs could circumvent this by requesting for the PPAs in Parliament.
"In Parliament, when a MP asks for anything, we have always been transparent," Mukhriz said.
However, Pua retorted that Mukhriz's statement was "complete and utter bunkum" and insisted that the PPA documents required declassification by the cabinet, as stipulated under the OSA, before they could even be accessed by MPs.
The toll highway concession contracts and the Port Klang Free Zone contracts, he pointed out, were only accessible to MPs after a lengthy declassification process.
Under the OSA, unauthorised possession of classified documents is subject to punishment, including a mandatory jail sentence of up to seven years.
Pua also noted that Mukhriz's statement appeared to contradict Energy, Water and Green Technology Minister Peter Chin's claim that the government had no power to compel a contract between two private entities to be made public.
In a statement today, DAP publicity chief Tony Pua said he was certain the PPAs between independent power producers (IPP) and Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) were classified under the Official Secrets Act 1972.
"I hope to be proven wrong and become a complete fool if Mukhriz can on Monday, June 13, when the second parliamentary sitting of the year commences, give each MP a copy of the IPP agreement."(It must be) attached with an undertaking from the attorney-general that MPs are not punishable under the OSA for having possession of these documents," said Pua (left), who is the Petaling Jaya MP.
Yesterday, Mukhriz told reporters that there cannot be a public disclosure of the PPAs because they contained a non-disclosure clause but MPs could circumvent this by requesting for the PPAs in Parliament.
"In Parliament, when a MP asks for anything, we have always been transparent," Mukhriz said.
However, Pua retorted that Mukhriz's statement was "complete and utter bunkum" and insisted that the PPA documents required declassification by the cabinet, as stipulated under the OSA, before they could even be accessed by MPs.
The toll highway concession contracts and the Port Klang Free Zone contracts, he pointed out, were only accessible to MPs after a lengthy declassification process.
Under the OSA, unauthorised possession of classified documents is subject to punishment, including a mandatory jail sentence of up to seven years.
Pua also noted that Mukhriz's statement appeared to contradict Energy, Water and Green Technology Minister Peter Chin's claim that the government had no power to compel a contract between two private entities to be made public.
View Comments0