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Cabinet tomorrow should make public in toto without censorship the full 433-page report of the Police Royal Commission
Media Statement
by Lim Kit Siang

(Parliament, Tuesday): The Cabinet tomorrow should make public in toto without censorship the full 433-page report of the Royal Commission on the Police Force which  was submitted  to the Yang di Pertuan Agong and the Prime Minister last Friday.

In a genuine information society, there should have been no need for the Prime Minister to present the report to the Cabinet for a decision whether it is to be made public, in full or in part.

In a country which practices good governance, accountability and transparency, a report of a  commission of inquiry should be public property at the  first available opportunity – which is simultaneously it is presented to the King and/or Prime Minister  - and the question of whether the government-of-the-day having to decide whether to make it public, in full or in part, should not arise.

The objective  of the Police Royal Commission of Inquiry is to restore public confidence in the efficiency, professionalism and integrity of the police force, and any attempt to suppress or deny to the public any portion of the commission report will only give rise to suspicion that the government has things to hide about the police record or performance – which will defeat the very purpose of the establishment of the Commission.

The failure last August  to make public the interim report of the Police Royal Commission – with  the Deputy Internal Security Minister, Datuk Noh Omar publicly breaking his promise made in Parliament to give me a copy – is a blow to the credibility and integrity of the Commission, which should not be aggravated by another  attempt to suppress any part of the report or delay in its publications.

Today is World Press Freedom Day 2005.  The Cabinet should honour the fundamental principle of press freedom by upholding the freedom of information of all Malaysians and make  two policy decisions tomorrow:

  • Immediate release in  full  of the 433-page  Police Royal Commission Report, with its 125 recommendations and all the appendices.
  • All future reports of commissions of inquiry would be fully  made public simultaneously on the day it is submitted to the authorities.

 

 (3/5/2005)


*  Lim Kit Siang, Parliamentary Opposition Leader, MP for Ipoh Timur & DAP Central Policy and Strategic Planning Commission Chairman