By Charles Santiago, Klang MP

The federal government’s continued resistance to making the Selangor water restructuring agreement public is puzzling, to say the least. What is the logic of hiding the agreement, which is essentially a public document, from public scrutiny?

Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Maximus Ongkili gave two absurd reasons for not wanting to make the water deal public. He said that the agreement would not be disclosed based on the advice of the Attorney-General. And that it requires the consent of the water concession companies for the agreement to be made public.

The AG needs to explain the need to classify the Selangor water restructuring agreement under OSA. Does the water agreement compromise national security? How does a water restructuring process involving a commercial transaction between a buyer and seller amount to a national security threat?

Classifying the document under the OSA will only invite accusations of corruption.

The people of Selangor invested their trusts and hope in the government to sign a deal that puts their interests first. Thus, declassifying the document would be one of the ways to be accountable to the electorate.

Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali has expressed his fears about unnecessary cost escalation given that the contracts awarded this far has been excessive. And this will come to burden consumers in the state.

Therefore, the fact that the Federal authorities continue to resist Selangor’s requests for public disclosure suggests they fear peoples’ wrath. And clearly, they also consider the state of Selangor a minor player.

Specifically, the state’s role is to ensure land acquisition and approval including approving development orders for the constructions of treatment plant and other water related infrastructure.

The more important decision on costs, technology, awarding of contracts and other planning, management and executive responsibilities will be addressed by the federal government.

The people and the state of Selangor have lots at stake in the restructuring exercise. The state would be paying RM 7.8 billion from its coffers to realize the restructuring effort.

Acquiring and transferring the water assets into public hands was a key election promise, one that was enthusiastically supported by the Selangor electorate.

Therefore, the federal government’s continued denial to the right to information premised on national security is no longer acceptable to people of Selangor and runs contrary to its own aims of transparency and accountability.

In fact Selangorians’ real fear is that the OSA will be used to promote corruption in the water restructuring process to the detriment of the people and state.