Present White Paper on Dr M's queries
Published: Jul 3, 2006 7:06 AM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 10:21 AM
The Cabinet should present a White Paper in Parliament giving full, proper and satisfactory explanations, including the declassification of all relevant documents, on the issues raised by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang.
The Cabinet should present a White Paper in Parliament giving full, proper and satisfactory explanations, including the declassification of all relevant documents, on the issues raised by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang.
He added that time should also be provided for a full debate on the White Paper as the issues raised concerned the interests of the nation.
It is not a private spat between the former premier and current prime minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, said Lim in a statement yesterday.
"For the long term, the cabinet should set in motion the dismantling of the repressive and draconian provisions in the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and other authoritarian laws," he added.
Lim was responding to Mahathir's call on Saturday for the government to declassify documents pertaining to the negotiations between Malaysia and Singapore on the bridge issue.
He said Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar must show proof that Malaysia did not propose to sell sand to Singapore or allow its air force to use Johor's airspace in the pursuit to build a new bridge.
The former premier also stated that the OSA "should not be used to hide untruths".
The new reformist
Commenting on this, Lim said it is strange that the admonition came from Mahathir because he had single-handedly made the OSA even more draconian during his 22-year tenure as prime minister.
The Act, according to the opposition leader, was one of the "major weapons in his (Mahathir's) arsenal of repressive laws striking fear among Malaysians."
He said the law was also used by the former premier's administration as a "protective cover for incompetence, inefficiency, negligence, abuse of power and corruption."
"Mahathir is recently singing a different tune," added Lim, who also warned that Abdullah's reform pledge is at risk of being hijacked by Mahathir taking over the reformist banner.
"Although Mahathir had been the biggest culprit in going against the reform he is preaching now, this can be no reason why such a reform has not yet been implemented by the Abdullah premiership in the past 32 months," he said.
On the same note, Lim said Malaysians are wondering why the government is taking so long in issuing a full, proper and satisfactory response to the issues raised by the former premier.
He added that time should also be provided for a full debate on the White Paper as the issues raised concerned the interests of the nation. It is not a private spat between the former premier and current prime minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, said Lim in a statement yesterday.
"For the long term, the cabinet should set in motion the dismantling of the repressive and draconian provisions in the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and other authoritarian laws," he added.
Lim was responding to Mahathir's call on Saturday for the government to declassify documents pertaining to the negotiations between Malaysia and Singapore on the bridge issue.
He said Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar must show proof that Malaysia did not propose to sell sand to Singapore or allow its air force to use Johor's airspace in the pursuit to build a new bridge.
The former premier also stated that the OSA "should not be used to hide untruths".
The new reformist
Commenting on this, Lim said it is strange that the admonition came from Mahathir because he had single-handedly made the OSA even more draconian during his 22-year tenure as prime minister.
The Act, according to the opposition leader, was one of the "major weapons in his (Mahathir's) arsenal of repressive laws striking fear among Malaysians." He said the law was also used by the former premier's administration as a "protective cover for incompetence, inefficiency, negligence, abuse of power and corruption."
"Mahathir is recently singing a different tune," added Lim, who also warned that Abdullah's reform pledge is at risk of being hijacked by Mahathir taking over the reformist banner.
"Although Mahathir had been the biggest culprit in going against the reform he is preaching now, this can be no reason why such a reform has not yet been implemented by the Abdullah premiership in the past 32 months," he said.
On the same note, Lim said Malaysians are wondering why the government is taking so long in issuing a full, proper and satisfactory response to the issues raised by the former premier.
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