Sunday January 4, 2009
‘Open up more on toll deals’
PETALING JAYA: The MCA is urging the Works Ministry to remove the conditions set for viewing the 16 highway concession agreements.
Information and Communication bureau chief Lee Wei Kiat also said he was disappointed that only 16 highway agreements were released to public.
“We are further disappointed that documents pertaining to the most frequently-used highway, the North-South Expressway, were not declassified.
“These toll deals involve multi-million ringgit of taxpayers’ money. Hence the onus is on the Works Ministry to fully disclose all the documents to the public,” he said in a statement.
Lee also took the ministry to task for not allowing the public to make copies of the documents, saying the two-hour viewing period was too brief.
“These documents are inches thick and it would be impossible for a lay person to comprehend the entire contents within two hours,” he said.
He also hit out at the condition of allowing only five individuals to view the documents at any one time, saying it defeated the purpose of declassifying the documents.
He suggested that the ministry publishes the agreements online for the public to view and obtain a digital copy.
Lee also questioned the ministry for allowing reporters only 30 minutes to view the documents on the day it was released, saying it prevented them from fully performing their role of reporting the contents of the agreements.
The highway concession agreements can be viewed at the library of the Works Ministry on the sixth floor of Block B at the Works Ministry Complex in Jalan Sultan Salahuddin, Kuala Lumpur, which is open from 9am to 5pm on weekdays.
The library is closed for lunch from 1pm to 2pm (Mondays to Thursdays), and from 12.15pm to 2.45pm on Fridays.
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