Government-linked companies (GLCs) cannot hide behind the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and the exemptions under Selangor's Freedom of Information Enactment, said Selangor state assembly speaker Hannah Yeoh.

 

The excuse given that the information about the salaries and bonuses of GLCs top management is exempted under Selangor's Freedom of Information Enactment is simply not true, Yeoh said. 

 

"GLCs receive state grants, they should not be able to rely on Freedom of Information Enactment exemptions because they are dealing with taxpayers’ money," Yeoh explained in a forum discussing the OSA in Kuala Lumpur today.

 

Yeoh said she had been told the information regarding the GLCs had not been released because it was against corporate governance code and that it was exempted from the Freedom of Information Enactment.

 

"I think the reason they keep giving excuses is because GLC directors are paid a lot of money. Because if the salary was like RM2,000, nobody would make all the effort to come up with these excuses," she opined.

 

'Protected information'

She was referring to Kampung Tunku assemblyperson Lau Weng San's request for a list of top management in state GLCs and their salaries.

 

Lau ( photo ) said at that time he had waited over a month for an answer, but he was merely told that the information he requested was protected under the Personal Data Protection Act 2010.

 

This had prompted Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang to question if Selangor's Freedom of Information Enactment had been shelved under Azmin Ali's administration as Selangor Menteri Besar.

 Following this, Azmin had instructed the state finance officer and state secretary to quickly respond to Lau's request.

 

Lau had then said he was thankful for Azmin's concern , and congratulated him for his transparency and openness.