THE haphazard release of the Penan Task Force report last week is symptomatic of a glaring lack of access, as a rule, to publicly funded government information. The report, which confirmed the rape and sexual abuse of Penan women and girls, was publicly unavailable for months despite repeated calls by advocacy groups for it to […]
foi
Hiding behind “secrets”
By Gan Pei LingShhhhh… (© Paul Brunskill / sxc.hu) “YOU cannot quote me…I’ve discussed with my superior, we’ve decided that the progress is slow, so we don’t think it’s a good time to publicise it now, why don’t you write on other issues?” That was the response from an officer from the Ministry of Women, Family and Community […]
The right to information
By Zedeck SiewLogo from CIJ’s FOI campaign (all pics courtesy of CIJ)WHILE freedom of information (FOI) is a formidable rallying cry today, its intricacies are frequently lost amid all the catch-phrase-slinging. We like the sound of the idea, but we are usually unaware of the details and implications, the ways in which this fundamental right can and […]
