Scorpenes graft: Official Secrets Act must make way for Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act is indeed a step in the right way for a government to be transparent and accountable to the people it serves. It allows the people of a nation to have knowledge on the dealings of the government it has installed to look into its welfare.

Yet in Malaysia, the Official Secrets Act (OSA) may go head to head with the proposed FOI Act. The Official Secrets Act (OSA) passed in 1972 states, “any document specified in the schedule and any information and material relating thereto and includes any other official document, information, and material as may be classified as ‘Top Secret’, ‘Confidential’, ‘Secret’, or ‘Restricted’, as the case may be, by a minister, the Menteri Besar or Chief Minister of a state or such public officer appointed under section 2B”.

In 1983, a provision was added to the OSA that makes it an offense to not report anyone seeking official Information. If charged for not reporting foul play, the accused will face an $8600 fine and/or a 5-year prison sentence.

Under the OSA, the government can classify any document as “Secret” and this is a point of contention for the FOI Act. By implementing the FOI Act, the provision that allows this has to be removed and replaced with instead by a list of documents that can be classified secret.

Teacher's act goes viral

Malaysia's Rebecca Black is known as Cikgu Syida, who has attracted more than a million hits with her YouTube videos.

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FORGET Rebecca Black there is a new YouTube sensation. For Malaysia at least, and she is called Cikgu Syida.


The real-life primary school teacher from Bota, Perak, has attracted more than a million hits on the video sharing website with her wacky, mimed music videos.


From Shakira's World Cup theme song Waka Waka (This Time For Africa) to local hit Kalau Berpacaran by Sohaimi Meor Hassan and Anna Raffali and Arabic pop smash For The Rest Of My Life by Palestinian-born Swedish R&B singer Maher Zain, some 40 popular songs have gotten the Cikgu Syida treatment of weird costumes, funny dance moves and silly facial expressions.


True, there are more than a few music videos of the sad-wannabe-in-the-bedroom variety that will make you cringe but the more you watch, the more impressed you will get with the irreverence and sense of freedom that Cikgu Syida infuses in them.


What started out as a fun hobby and outlet for letting off steam has become a teaching aid for the 38-year-old English teacher, who sees her videos as an effective motivational tool for her students.

Act against Ibrahim Ali for racist statement, says Khairy

KUALA LUMPUR - Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin urged the authorities to take action against Malay rights group Perkasa's president Datuk Ibrahim Ali for 'threatening' the Chinese community.

"It is a racist and seditious statement that is dangerous.

"Action should be taken against him as his statement is a clear threat," he told reporters at Parliament's lobby here on Monday.

He added that the authorities should use the Sedition Act to investigate Ibrahim over his statement.

Although supporting freedom of expression, Khairy said that Ibrahim had gone beyond that and had made a threat against the Chinese community by asking them to 'stock-up' for July 9.

He assured the Chinese community that the view put forth by Ibrahim was solely his own and did not represent that of Malays in general.

"Umno Youth does not subscribe to such a view," he added.

Ibrahim, who recently announced that Perkasa would hold a demonstration to counter the planned Bersih 2.0 street rally on July 9, had called on the Chinese to stock up on food.

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