Is Official Secrets Act (OSA) meant to protect national and public interests or the private interests of one private company to prevent people from knowing whether they should be increasing water tariffs to earn huge profits?

Media Statement

by Lim Guan Eng

(Petaling Jaya, Friday): How can the people be empowered if all information on essential services that affects their lives are classified under the OSA? If the people are paying for these services, they have a right to know and access to information as to what and why they are paying an increase, especially of a 15% increase in water tariff for Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya consumers.

For Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik to say that the water concession agreement or the audited figures for Non-Revenue Water (NRW) of Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) can not be made public because they are classified under the Official Secrets Act (OSA), is an abuse of laws to cover up information that the public has a moral right to know.

What is so secret about the water concession agreement or even the NRW of Syabas that it has to be classified under the OSA? The 15% water tariff increase was only granted because the government had indicated that Syabas complied with the concession agreement to reduce non-revenue water (NRW) by 5%. NRW is the loss of water as a result of theft and leakages.

A 15 percent tariff increase will give an additional RM 100 million in pre-tax profits to Syabas. The water company is 70 percent owned by Puncak Niaga and the remaining 30 percent is owned by the Selangor State government. Is there a need for 15% in tariff in increase when both the company and the directors are earning huge profits and high remuneration?

Puncak Niaga’s 2004 Annual Report indicates that five executive directors and 2 non-executive directors were paid (excluding benefits – in-kind) RM 6.9 million. One executive director was paid between RM 2.1 million and RM 2.2 million. Another director was paid between RM 1.1 million to RM 1.2 million. Two directors received almost half of all remuneration received by directors.

That is why the people have a right to know whether there is a reduction of NRW by 5%. According to the agreement, only if there is reduction of NRW by 5% then the water tariff can be increased by 15%. If these NRW figures are audited by the Auditor-General at the public expense, then there is no reason why the public is not privy to the information.

Keng Yaik must realize that water services has already been privatized to a private company. The OSA is meant to protect public and national interest, not the private interests to prevent people from knowing whether the company is justified to increase water tariffs to earn huge profits and pay high remunerations to directors of a private company. It is such abuse of the OSA to serve private and not national interests, that DAP demands that the OSA be abolished.

DAP considers it an abuse of OSA when information relating to water is a classified national secret. How can national interest be threatened when the public wants to know why they are paying so much for their water? Keng Yaik must explain how the country’s interests will be threatened if the information is made public. In the interests of freedom of information, transparency and accountability, Keng Yaik must seek the immediate declassification of the audited NRW figures and the water concession agreement and make it public.

(19/1/2007)