A trades union umbrella body and 15 individuals have filed an application for a judicial review against the government's decision not to reveal the contents of the Selangor water concession agreement and audit report.

The application, filed in the Kuala Lumpur High Court this afternoon, named the Selangor and federal governments respectively, and Energy, Water and Communications Minister Dr Lim Keng Yaik as respondents.

Judicial review is the power of a court to review legislative, executive, and administrative decisions that clash with provisions of the Federal Constitution.

The applicants want access to the documents and for a declaration that the documents are not 'secret'.

Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) president Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud told a press conference afterwards that the information must be revealed because the public has a right to know the details.

He pointed to recent increases in the cost of fuel, electricity, water and toll charges, saying these affect all Malaysians.

"We have the right to know the reason for the increase in the water tariff," he said.

Last October, Lim announced that the water tariff would be increased by 15 percent for Klang Valley residents from Nov 1.

He said Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) was entitled to that increase because it had successfully reduced non-revenue water (NRW - water stolen or lost through leakage) by more than five per cent within a year, according to the concession agreement.

'No need to know'

Days later, MTUC and the Coalition Against Water Privatisation (CAWP) had challenged the government to make public the water concession agreement between Syabas with the state government, as well as the audit report on Syabas, to support the claim.

However, the ministry's water division secretary Japar Abu faxed a letter to MTUC secretary-general G Rajasekaran on Dec 5 saying that the concession agreement for the supply of water in Selangor and the government audit report on Syabas are classified as 'secret and confidential'.

In his letter, Japar said there was no need to disclose the auditor's report to the public as it "had already been presented to the cabinet and approved".

"We ask for the documents to be made public in line with the prime minister's call for transparency, integrity and accountability," CAWP co-ordinator Charles Santiago said today.

Syabas is 70 percent owned by Puncak Niaga, with the balance owned by the Selangor government.

Water supply was privatised on Jan 1, 2005, with the company being responsible for distribution in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.