Charles Santiago |
- Court orders Syabas Concession
- Court orders Syabas concession, audit report to be made public
- Make public audit and water concession pact, court rules
- Court orders Syabas concession, audit report to be made public
- Court orders Syabas concession, audit report to be made public
- 法官抨官方机密法令荒谬谕令能讯部公开水供合约
- Voter Registration At Grace Klang, 4th July 2010, 9.30am-2pm.
| Court orders Syabas Concession Posted: 28 Jun 2010 11:35 PM PDT       | |
| Court orders Syabas concession, audit report to be made public Posted: 28 Jun 2010 11:11 PM PDT Source: The Malaysianinsider UPDATED @ 08:11:11 PM 28-06-2010 By Neville Spykerman June 28, 2010
Judicial Commissioner Hadhariah Syed Ismail, who read both documents, ruled that making the documents public was not detrimental to national security or public interest as argued by the government. The Coalition against Water Privatisation filed the judicial review seeking a declaration that the audit report and concession agreement signed between Syabas and the Selangor government on Dec 15, 2004 were not confidential but public documents. The coalition includes the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) and 13 others, comprising consumers in Selangor, Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur. Syabas provides water for both Selangor and the Federal Territories of Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur. They successfully argued the audit report formed the basis for the 15 per cent increase in water tariffs in the Klang Valley announced by Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik on Oct 14, 2006 and should be made public. Their request was rejected by the ministry on Dec 4, 2006 on the grounds that the documents were classified as confidential and government secret. Klang MP Charles Santiago, who is among the 14 plaintiffs, said the High Court ruling was a landmark decision because it gives basis to declassifying other documents. He said the decision will also impact the ongoing negotiations in the water management restructuring in Selangor. Hadhariah today ordered the federal government to hand over the documents to the plaintiffs within seven days. She ruled that the government did not consider the expectation of members of the public who are adversely affected by the decision when it refused to disclosed the documents. In her judgment, she pointed out that the privatisation of water service and arbitrary increase tariff and then using the Official Secrets Act were disproportionate to the aims of the law. She added the government's decision runs counter to the principles of good governance, accountability, transparency and public interests.
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| Make public audit and water concession pact, court rules Posted: 28 Jun 2010 11:06 PM PDT Mon, 28 Jun 2010 22:43   KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court today ordered the federal government to make public the audit report and water concession agreement signed with the Selangor government and Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas). Judicial Commissioner Hadhariah Syed Ismail said the disclosure of the documents would not be detrimental to national or public interest. Instead, it would serve the public interest in keeping them informed of the workings of the government and to promote discussion of public affairs, she said. Hadhariah was ruling in favour of the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) and 13 others who had asked for a judicial review after then Energy, Water and Communications Minister Dr Lim Keng Yaik denied their request to make public the documents. They had written a letter to the minister on Nov 7, 2006, requesting for the audit report and concession agreement be disclosed, but was rejected by the ministry on Dec 4, 2006, on grounds the documents had been classified as confidential and secret. Since then, the utility now comes under the portfolio of the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry. Hadhariah ordered the first respondent, the Energy, Water and Communications Minister, to submit the documents to MTUC and the other applicants within seven days. In her judgment, she said even though the concession agreement was not disclosed yet, information on non-revenue water (NRW) and its percentage of reduction, formula for tariff increase, period of review and payment of compensation to Syabas had already been in circulation by the media and third parties. “In that sense, it can no longer be treated as a confidential document because these are the major issues. In the first place, the concession agreement is not a private agreement. It was executed with public interest in mind,” she said. Public’s interest Hadhariah stated that the public relied on a good concession and governance of the government to protect their interests, therefore, it was in the public’s interest also the agreement should be disclosed. “In this area, where transparency, accountability and priority are given to the needs of the rakyat, it is only fair that the concession agreement be made public. I am of the view that courts should lean in favour of aggrieved parties in matters involving public interest,” she said. As for the audit report, she said it contained information relevant to the concession agreement on the increase of water tariff and if the agreement was to be disclosed, the audit should also be made public as the audit made reference and comments on certain provisions in the agreement. She said even though the respondents had submitted that the audit report was classified as secret because it was produced for the Cabinet, it was nonsensical to say any document put before the Cabinet was automatically treated as “rahsia” (secret) under Section 2A of the Official Secret Act 1972. Hadhariah also held that the applicants had locus standi as they were paying water consumers within the area covered by concession agreement and not “busy bodies, cranks and other mischief makers”. If the water tariff was increased, they had no choice but to pay more for water because there was no alternative supplier available. Water tariff After their request was refused, MTUC and 13 others including its chairman Syed Sharir Syed Mohamud and two children, aged 10 and 15, obtained leave from the court on June 14, 2007, for judicial review, naming the minister, the government of Malaysia and Selangor government as respondents. They said that as water consumers in Selangor, Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur, they had the right to gain access to the audit report and the concession agreement signed on Dec 15, 2004. They claimed that the audit report formed the basis for the 15% increase in water tariff in the Klang Valley announced on Oct 14, 2006. They contended that the government was obliged by law to act in a transparent manner and was responsible in the usual enforcement of regulations pertaining to the water market and in a situation which gave rise to suspicion that the water market was being used for profiteering. The applicants said they had written a letter to the minister on Nov 7, 2006 requesting for the two documents but was rejected by the ministry on Dec 4, 2006, on grounds that the documents had been classified as confidential and government secret. The applicants were represented by lawyer Ang Hean Leng, senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan appeared for the minister and the Malaysian government while Md Azhari Abu Hanif, the assistant to the Selangor legal adviser, acted on behalf of the Selangor government. “In this area, where transparency, accountability and priority are given to the needs of the rakyat, it is only fair that the concession agreement be made public. I am of the view that courts should lean in favour of aggrieved parties in matters involving public interest,” she said. As for the audit report, she said it contained information relevant to the concession agreement on the increase of water tariff and if the agreement was to be disclosed, the audit should also be made public as the audit made reference and comments on certain provisions in the agreement. She said even though the respondents had submitted that the audit report was classified as secret because it was produced for the Cabinet, it was nonsensical to say any document put before the Cabinet was automatically treated as “rahsia” (secret) under Section 2A of the Official Secret Act 1972. Hadhariah also held that the applicants had locus standi as they were paying water consumers within the area covered by concession agreement and not “busy bodies, cranks and other mischief makers”. If the water tariff was increased, they had no choice but to pay more for water because there was no alternative supplier available. Water tariff After their request was refused, MTUC and 13 others including its chairman Syed Sharir Syed Mohamud and two children, aged 10 and 15, obtained leave from the court on June 14, 2007, for judicial review, naming the minister, the government of Malaysia and Selangor government as respondents. They said that as water consumers in Selangor, Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur, they had the right to gain access to the audit report and the concession agreement signed on Dec 15, 2004. They claimed that the audit report formed the basis for the 15% increase in water tariff in the Klang Valley announced on Oct 14, 2006. They contended that the government was obliged by law to act in a transparent manner and was responsible in the usual enforcement of regulations pertaining to the water market and in a situation which gave rise to suspicion that the water market was being used for profiteering. The applicants said they had written a letter to the minister on Nov 7, 2006 requesting for the two documents but was rejected by the ministry on Dec 4, 2006, on grounds that the documents had been classified as confidential and government secret. The applicants were represented by lawyer Ang Hean Leng, senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan appeared for the minister and the Malaysian government while Md Azhari Abu Hanif, the assistant to the Selangor legal adviser, acted on behalf of the Selangor government.       | |
| Court orders Syabas concession, audit report to be made public Posted: 28 Jun 2010 10:58 PM PDT Source:The Malaysianinsider       | |
| Court orders Syabas concession, audit report to be made public Posted: 28 Jun 2010 10:42 PM PDT Source:The Malaysianinsider       | |
| Posted: 28 Jun 2010 04:17 AM PDT Source: Merdeka Review 作者／本刊翁慧琪 Jun 28, 2010 05:17:33 pm
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| Voter Registration At Grace Klang, 4th July 2010, 9.30am-2pm. Posted: 28 Jun 2010 04:05 AM PDT Just a note to inform your good self that SABM (www.SayaAnakBangsaMalaysia.net) and EPIC (http://dosomethingepic.net/) are running a Voter Registration exercise with Grace Klang under the leadership of Pastor Ronald Teo on the date and time stated above. The Penolong Perdaftar to be present is from your good office. Pastor Ronald has made a good suggestion of opening the exercise to public, especially the local neighbourhood, in order to register as many new voters as possible. We are hoping your office can support by promoting the exercise through your local network. Thank you very much and warm regards, danny       |
KUALA LUMPUR, June 28 — The Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) concession agreement and audit report signed in 2004 were ordered to be declassified by the High Court today following a petition from a public interest group.
吉隆坡高庭今天宣判马来西亚职工总会连同11名成人和两名小孩胜诉，下令能源、水务及通讯部在七天内把特许经营合约以及稽查报告交给申请人。
这个官司的申请人代表律师是洪显龙（右图），而第一与第三答辩人则由高级联邦律师（Senior Federal Council）三苏伯哈山（Shamsul Bolhassan）代表抗辩。雪州法律顾问助理莫哈末阿查里（Md Azhari Abu Hanif）代表第二答辩者。| You are subscribed to email updates from Charles Santiago To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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