Two activists fighting for the people's right to have access to information are now in the forefront in pushing for the enactment of a Freedom of Information (FOI) Act in the country.

The duo, Gurmit Singh ( right ) who is chairperson of the board for Centre for Environment, Technology and Development Malaysia (Cetdem) and Mohideen Abdul Kader, vice president of Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) spoke at an event yesterday to highlight the need for the act.

Gurmit said that in the eyes of the government, the right to access information seems like a kind of privilege.

"For them, there is no right for the public to have access to information concerning public interest because only 'privileged' people get the right to access the information," he said during the launching of 'Access to Information and the Environment' report at a Petaling Jaya hotel.

The event, organised by Article 19, an international human rights organisation which promotes freedom of expression and access to information, and the Centre of Independent Journalism (CIJ), also witnessed the launching of a book titled A Haze of Secrecy .

Gurmit lamented that the government only releases information to the public after they have decided on a subject and by then, the public have no more chance to voice their opinions.

He pointed out that for instance, the government decided to continue with the Bakun project in Sarawak in which a detailed Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report was not even released.

"The people there cannot raise their opinions and comments because of the lack of information. How are they supposed to comment anyway when no information was given in the first place?" he said.

Gurmit asserted that in a situation where information is not available, it also discourages public debate and this is unhealthy for a democratic country.

He added that in such a case, public accountability on the part of the government is also in question.

Improve our systems

Meanwhile, Mohideen ( right) also agreed that only with information available could the public offer constructive suggestions.

When that is missing, it is bad because the public will then have to look for their own information and forming their own opinions which may otherwise be incorrect, he said.

He reiterated that the FOI Act will help improve the systems in the country and achieve a clean and transparent government as pledged by the prime minister.

"It is important for the government to make information available to the public, so that the public can scrutinise the process of a particular project before it is implemented," he said after the launch.

Mohideen also stressed on the importance for civil servants and politicians to acknowledge the urgent need of adopting a FOI Act in the country.

"The FOI Act must get the support from various groups in order to create a momentum that it is important for everyone to have the right to information in which the issues concerned are of public interest," he added.