Penang folk get access to gov't documents

In line with the its tag line espousing competency, accountability and transparency, the Penang government will open its doors for the public, especially the media, to have free access to information on government decisions, materials and documents, so long they do not fall under the ‘private and confidential’ sphere.

Under the new policy, government departments would also be entrusted to provide this information to public.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the new policy was a step forward to make the state government more accountable and transparent to the public, thus providing an effective a check and balance on the government’s competency.

"It’s a beginning of a new era for freedom of information," he told newsmen at his Komtar office today.

He said government departments would be allowed to provide information directly to the public and media if state executive councillors were not available for the purpose.

A three-man task force headed by state executive councillor Abdul Malik Abdul Kassim will study and re-classify all state government decisions, materials and documents deemed not sensitive before allowing free public access to them.

Another state executive councillor, Wong Hon Wai, and a representative from the state secretariat are the other two persons on the task force.

This unprecedented state government initiative is seen as an attempt to move away from the ghost of the previous administration led by Gerakan acting president Koh Tsu Koon who often practiced a ‘closed door’ policy on information.

The move would be welcomed by some Penang municipal councillors, who recently proposed that decisions made by various council sub-committees and by the ‘one stop centre’ (OSC) on proposed projects be available online prior to implementation.

At present only the full council meetings and its decisions are available to the public in compliance with a provision under Section 27 of the Local Government Act 1976.

Asked whether letters sent to him would also be included, Lim said the policy had not matured to that level yet.

"If one wants access to letters sent to me, then one has to obtain permission from their writers," he said.

Meanwhile, to pre-empt a possible ban on the country’s seafood exports, the Penang government has set up three-man task force to handle related problems and to implement measures to overcome them.

Headed by the state executive councillor Law Choo Kiang, who handles the agriculture, agro-based industries, rural development and flood mitigation portfolio, the task force also includes another state executive councillor, Phee Boon Poh, and InvestPenang Chairperson Lee Kah Choon.

The task force will conduct studies on how the local seafood industry would be affected if the European Union carried out its threat to ban Malaysian frozen seafood products. A dialogue session will be held soon with industry players to gain first-hand information on its effects.

The threat of the ban emerged when EU health representatives found that Malaysia lagged in meeting its stringent health standards. Products of six out of the nine Malaysian seafood companies they randomly tested did not pass their tests.

The federal government is taking immediate measures to avoid an EU ban.

"For some reasons, the EU is unhappy with the Malaysian health and agricultural ministry.

"If its ban threat is for real, then we had better be ready," said Lim, who said he plans to assist the industry.

More than 40 local companies export seafood to Europe and according to EU statistics last year Malaysia’s aquatic product exports totaled up RM516 million with Penang being the biggest contributor.