A SHOW-CAUSE letter sent to whistleblower Dr Selva Vathany Kanapathi Pillai, who has been highlighting mismanagement at the Orang Asli hospital in Gombak, cites rule 19 of the Peraturan-Peraturan Pegawai Awam (Kelakuan dan Tatatertib) 1993. It states, amongst other things, that a civil servant cannot make any public statement or provide factual information about the […]
transparency
Consult civil society on councillor appointments
By Jeffrey PhangTHE Coalition of Good Governance (CGG) congratulates the Selangor government for maintaining the 25% civil society quota in the appointment of local councillors. However, we are concerned that there may be a repeat of last year’s incident where many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and professional councillors were left off the list. They were only confirmed much […]
Whose truth?
By Deborah LohAYM logo (source: Facebook.com) WHERE lies the future of traditional media outlets in the face of blogs and other new media sources? This is not a new discussion, but my thoughts on the subject became more solidified over the past week. At the Alliance of Youth Movements (AYM) 2009 summit in Mexico City which I […]
Najib & Co. (Part 1)
By Gan Pei Ling“Give me a chance. I will reform and I will make changes.” Then Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, speaking at a press conference at the Umno general assembly in April 2009, days before he was made prime minister. He said he was aware that some parties expected him to act in an authoritarian […]
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 […]
Fearless reporting needs free environment
By Gayathry VenkiteswaranIN response to Prime Minister (PM) Datuk Seri Najib Razak‘s 6 April 2009 speech on encouraging a national dialogue through the media, the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) asks for a more concrete set of commitments in realising the PM’s vision. Najib Razak (Pic courtesy of theSun)To foster a transparent “national discourse” that leads to […]
Tug-of-war in Umno
By Zedeck SiewMuhyiddin Yassin (pic courtesy of theSun)IF the Umno general assembly debates of the past two days are any indication, there is a grave disconnect between what the party leadership is publicly indicating change to be, and what the party grassroots themselves feel. Talking to the press this afternoon, newly-minted Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin […]
Najib committed to openness, transparency
KUALA LUMPUR, 17 March 2009: Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today he would be committed to an administration based on the principle of openness, transparency and telling the people the truth when he takes over the helm of the country. The deputy prime minister said that if the government spoke the truth to the people, […]
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 […]
More disclosures should follow
By Gayathry VenkiteswaranTHE Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) welcomes the government’s decision to declassify all highway concession contracts except one and expresses hope that future contracts with public interest are made under more open and transparent conditions. Though long overdue, the announcement by the Works Minister Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamad is only the tip of the iceberg […]
