The Penang Freedom of Information Select Committee is "disheartened" by the lack of response from members of the public in discussions it has planned on the draft, which was tabled at the last sitting of the state legislative assembly in November.

Committee chairperson Jagdeep Singh Deo said despite the ongoing debate and criticism of the bill in the newspapers, especially in the Chinese dailies, only three interested parties have indicated their interest in joining the discussions.

pac probe king of tennis 151108 jagdeep The three parties are Gerakan, Penang Chinese Journalists and Photographers Association and Malaysiakini .

However, to ensure transparency and show that the state is open to criticism, Jagdeep said the committee would open its doors again to the public to invite the people to participate in the discussions.

"We will take a pro-active action to invite the public through invitation letters, which we plan to send out by tomorrow (Friday)," he told a press conference at Komtar yesterday.

"We have identified 67 organisations, including professional bodies, NGOs and representatives from institutions of higher learning," the Dato Keramat assemblyperson added.

Jagdeep said there could be various reasons for the poor public response to the matter, one of which could be the lack of proper information that the committee was open to the people's participation.

Next meeting on Jan 7

"Maybe they are just not interested. The numbers are very telling. People seem to ‘buat bising’ (make noise) only, but when we invite them to discuss an issue, they don't come forward," he said.

"But the committee still wants them to participate, which is why we are sending out invitations to the NGOs and other sectors,” he said, adding that the state would like to convene a meeting as soon as possible.

The next select committee meeting is scheduled for Jan 7. The invitation is also open to individuals and those interested in taking part can email sitiasma@penang.gov.my or ahmadothman@penang.gov.my or fax to 04-2618618.

"Those who indicate their interest will be given a draft of the FOI to read before attending the meeting," said Jagdeep.

He also agreed with a suggestion from a journalist that the draft, in the English and Malay languages, be made available on the Internet.

Selangor, which tabled an FOI bill in July, has reportedly consulted 38 NGOs and held four meetings on the matter.

A public forum planned by civil society groups, including Sembang-Sembang, on the FOI bill on Nov 28 was postponed indefinitely out of respect for former Penang Chief Minister Dr Lim Chong Eu, whose funeral was held that day.

Asked why civil society organisations and journalist groups were not consulted before the draft was tabled, Jagdeep said though the state had drawn up an FOI bill it wanted to implement, the draft bill was still open to public feedback, and this would be taken into account.