I'll join UMNO ...

IF THEY HAD MORE Members of Parliament like Zaid Ibrahim and Sharir Samad.

But I am not a Malay. Will these two unusual MPs initiate opening up the party membership to non-Malays?

myGOodfriend from Ipoh, AweOfHelen, yells at the topof her voice from the Church belfry -- THAT WILL BE THE DAY!

"'The day?' sisdar Helen, WHAT DO YOU MEAN?"

Trying to read her mind, which represents lots of Malaysian minds I know, that'll be the day when nation-building of NegaraKu starts.

Mreanwhile, I join brudder Zaid and Sharir in dreaming the great Malaysian Dream.

Ala-the great American Dream (search anakmerdeka.blogspot.com for the banana, or durian, or grape, watever! ThisGalfromFurong has a "small" kebun, small as defined by one funny Datuk Z Mad D in Selangor, I here!:(

From the NST, April 7, 2007 page 10:

Call for Freedom
of Information Act


KUALA LUMPUR: Imagine being entitled to a copy of the minutes of a ministerial or local council meeting.

Or obtaining copies of inter-ministerial correspondence.

Lawyer Datuk Zaid Ibrahim believes it is time for such documents to be made available in Malaysia.

"The government should be transparent and accountable. It’s time for us to have a Freedom of Information Act because the public is entitled to know information that affects them," he said.

Such data is provided upon request in many foreign countries.
"Britain and New Zealand have a Freedom of Information Act and an Official Information Act respectively," said Zaid.

Developing countries such as India, Thailand and Uganda also have such laws.

Zaid, who is Member of Parliament for Kota Baru, noted the increasing number of questions in the Dewan Rakyat on the Official Secrets Act.

In the past two weeks, four MPs — three of them from Barisan Nasional — questioned why a highway concessionaire agreement was an "official secret".

Zaid went a step further and asked why the Official Secrets Act was not limited to documents on military intelligence, national defence and security.

"We are told that concessionaire agreements are classified because they are attached to minutes of cabinet meetings, which are specified in the Act as an ‘official secret’.

"Why can’t the minutes be detached from the agreement? The public wants to know how tariffs are computed, for example. This is the kind of information the people are entitled to because they are paying the toll."

"How can a commercial agreement be sensitive? We are so paranoid sometimes," he added.

When asked to comment, Deputy Information Minister Datuk Seri Chia Kwang Chye said the proposal deserved further study.

"Anything which is a step towards better transparency should be considered because as a matter of principle, freedom of information is a good idea.

"Limits, however, must be set because the disclosure of certain information would be harmful to national security."

Public Accounts Committee chairman Datuk Shahrir Samad pointed out that a culture of openness had to come first.

"Before any change in the law, transparency has to become a culture. Civil servants must realise that their job requires them to be accountable and transparent."


DESI: As alwaqys, the highlights (THUS BOLDED) in the news item, courtesy of the NST, are all Desi's; (I paid RM1.20 for the print copy-lah, so some C&P from its unlike you cheapskate Bloggers I spied just browsing at he kedai next to my fave Mamak shop nearest you. "I have eyes all over the place, K!" and this info is covered by the OSA! KO!