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Why Malaysia Needs the Freedom of Information Act
41 mins·15:00, 25 Sept 2025
Why Malaysia Needs the Freedom of Information Act
41 mins
·
15:00, 25 Sept 2025
·
Recommended
41 mins
31 mins
Guest: Dr Punitha Silivarajoo, Deputy Director General (Policy & Development), Legal Affairs Division, Prime Minister’s Department, Wathshlah Naidu, Executive Director, Centre for Independent Journalism
Earlier this year, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that the government will be tabling the Freedom of Information Act in Parliament by the end of this year. This is a highly anticipated piece of legislation that Civil Society Organisations (and even the Pakatan Harapan political coalition) have been pushing for, for a very long time. It is said to be an important game-changer in the fight against corruption and for the democratisation of power.
In this episode, we speak to Wathshlah Naidu, who’s the Executive Director of the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), one of the key organisations pushing for this legislation. A number of CSOs, including CIJ, have also come up with a model RTI Bill, which details what a law of this nature should look like.
We also speak to Dr Punitha Silivarajoo, Deputy Director General of Policy and Development of the Legal Affairs Division, in the Prime Minister’s Department. She and her team have had in-depth discussions and meetings with CSOs since 2019, concerning this particular Bill.
Presenter: Dashran Yohan
Producer: Dashran Yohan
Legal Affairs Divisionthe bigger picturebeyond the ballot boxfreedom of information actfreedom of informationcentre for independent journalismprime minister's department
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