The Sun 13^th January 2006 had reported that:

“The report of the independent commission that investigated the case of a woman who was secretly captured on video doing ear squats in the nude in a police lockup is ready and will be presented to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Syed Putra Jamalullail on Monday.

Commission secretary Datuk Hamzah Md Rus said a copy of the report would be given to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on the same day.

Hamzah told Bernama yesterday the one-volume report, divided into two parts containing the recommendations and appendices, would be handed over by commission chair man Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah, accompanied by its members at Istana Negara.

The members are for mer MCA deputy president Tan Sri Lim Ah Lek, Wanita Umno legal aid bureau head Datuk Kamilia Ibrahim and former president of the Bar Council Khuthubul Zaman Bukhari.

Hamzah said he has also been asked to table the report to the cabinet at its meeting on Wednesday.

Hamzah added that it is up to the government to decide whether or not to make public the report.”

I feel regret with Hamzah’s statement that it will be up to the government to decide whether to release the report to the public.

Why should Malaysian public and MPs be denied the first chance to read the report whereas the Prime Minister and the Cabinet will have the golden chance to read it next Monday and Wednesday?

This has raised question on whether the current administration led by Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi is serious in eradicating the “First-World Infrastructure, Third-World Mentality” Malaysian malaise which the had been calling for the past three years.

It is the practice in first-world countries to demonstrate a new government commitment to accountability, transparency and good governance. Instead of treating information as personal property of the government, the government should start adopting the mindset that information should regarded as the right of the people and that it should be made freely and instantly available to the public unless there are national security or personal privacy considerations.

(14/01/2006)

*Fong Kui Lun, DAP National Treasurer and MP for Bukit Bintang