Penang Gerakan leaders are prepared for the long and winding path to obtain access to agreements on reclamation projects inked when BN ruled Penang.

Today, its state leaders submitted their appeal to the state government to access agreements of three reclamation projects under the Freedom of Information Enactment 2010 (FOI).

State party acting youth chief Jason Loo submitted his application to a staff from the state secretariat office in Komtar today.

He had to fork out RM150 (RM50 each) for the application, considered first in the history of FOI, which will be decided by an Appeals Board.

This is on top RM350 which he had to pay for another agreement on reclamation in Bayan Lepas which the state had signed with its Penang Transport Master Plan project delivery partner, SRS Consortium.

The state government needs to table a motion to form a FOI Appeals Board at the coming Penang Legislative Assembly, which will sit on May 19.

"The FOI says that the state shall have the power to disclose or declassify the agreements if public interest for it outweighs the risks for it," Loo said, when met at Komtar Level 3 today.

"The information in the agreements of Seri Tanjung Pinang 1, 2 and Gurney Wharf, are important to Penangites where public interest is at stake," he added.

"The reclamation projects would affect the fishing communities as well as disturb marine life habitats and marine ecosystem in the area and environment," he stressed.

"The projects may affect the livelihood of the residents staying around Tanjong Tokong and Gurney Drive".

Confidentiality clause damper

The three agreements involving reclamations in Seri Tanjung 1, Seri Tanjung 2 and Gurney Wharf are currently bound by a confidentiality clause signed by the developer and previous BN state administration.

Loo's March 14 application for the three agreements under the FOI was rejected on April 4 due to the confidentiality clause.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng blamed the previous BN administration for including the clause during inking of the deals with the developer, prior to 2008.

On the issue of public interest, Deputy Chief Minister P Ramasamy who oversees the implementation of the enactment had retorted "It is not a matter of life and death".

Ramasamy had earlier said that the FOI was restricted by federal laws such as the Official Secrets Act, so the enactment does not provide "complete freedom".

Loo questioned why the chief minister could not declassify important documents when in 2007, former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had done it for agreements on highway concessions.

Emulate Pak Lah

Loo reminded that Abdullah had instructed the companies to waive their rights under the confidentiality clause, and they obliged.

"Why can't Lim do it? Is there something to hide?" he asked.

"This is a slap to Lim's face when he said that in 2010 that the passing of the FOI was to promote a democratic platform and open data government," Loo added.

Loo lamented that in 2016, he was forced to sign a statutory declaration when he applied to access agreements on reclamation in Bayan Bay and Bayan Mutiara.

Signing of the SD is required to ensure the documents are not used for commercial purposes, said Ramasamy.

Loo accused Lim's administration of "not planning to be transparent since the very beginning". He said the country can only move towards a new political era if governments were transparent.

Asked if he also meant this for the federal government as well, Loo said, "Yes, across the board".

He vowed to meet with parliamentarians in Penang to urge them to raise the issue of FOI at the federal level so a similar law can be enacted.

Accompanying Loo in Komtar was state Gerakan vice-chairperson Lim Boon Ten, who said, "We shall go all the way" in getting access to the reclamation agreements.