Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang today urged parliamentarians, political parties, the media and non-governmental organisations to push for the enactment of a Freedom of Information Act.

He said the government should commit itself to the restoration of a free press in the country since the public had high hopes that Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi would accord priority to restore public confidence as well as loosen and remove press controls.

"This is why on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 1999, some 600 journalists in Malaysia presented a memorandum to Abdullah calling for the repeal of the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) ... and other laws fettering the development of a free and responsible press as well as the enactment of a Freedom of Information Act," he said in a statement.

"After seven World Press Freedom Days, from 1999 to 2005, Malaysians are still waiting for the outcome of the serious consideration," he added.

In conjunction with the World Press Freedom Day yesterday, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail urged the government to abolish the PPPA .

She said two years after Abdullah had assumed the premiership, a free media remains nothing more than wishful thinking.

63 pilots left MAS

In an unrelated development, the Dewan Negara was told today that a total of 63 pilots left Malaysian Airlines (MAS) for greener pastures last year.

Bernama quoted Deputy Transport Minister Douglas Uggah Embas as saying the resignations did not affect the airline's operations.

"MAS could not offer remuneration as attractive as the other airlines," he said during a question and answer session.

Senator Sharipah Aminah Syed Mohamed had wanted to know what steps the ministry was taking to overcome the problem of pilots leaving MAS for other airlines, especially those from the Middle East.

Douglas said MAS had taken various steps, including extending the contracts of pilots who retired at 55 by five years to 60, depending on their performance.

He said MAS had also hired pilots from the region on a contract basis and was also training 200 cadet pilots.

"For B747 fights, Indonesian airline Garuda has loaned 10 pilots to MAS," he said.

To a question by Musa Sheikh Fadzir, Douglas denied that flight delays by MAS had been due to pilot shortage.