KUALA LUMPUR: Amendments to the Official Secrets Act (OSA), intended to complement the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, are still at the policy stage.
Office of the Chief Government Security Officer, ICT Security and Official Secrets Division director Mohd Saiful Hisham Mohd Salleh said they hope to finalise the proposed amendments by next year.
“To amend a law, there are processes. This includes submitting the proposed amendments to all ministries for their comments. After that, it will become a Cabinet policy paper.
“Then, it will be presented to the minister first. If there is any rejection, we must review it.
“Once it is agreed upon, only then can we submit it to the Cabinet,” he said on the sidelines of the ‘Roundtable on Freedom of Information in Malaysia: Strengthening the Legal Framework, Advancing Openness’.
The event was jointly organised by the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) and the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department.
Speaking during a forum at the event, he said the proposed amendments include provisions to allow the declassification of documents that no longer carry any sensitivity.
“At the same time, this does not mean that information related to national security, national defence and so on can be released freely.
“We will continue to review such documents carefully, and we recognise that they must be protected as they reflect the nation’s sovereignty.
“But for other documents — those outside the agreed exemption list — they may be reassessed, or parties may request access for specific purposes. There must be a clear purpose for requesting these documents,” he said.
He added that the FOI Act should not be seen as a threat to the OSA, nor does the OSA obstruct the implementation of the FOI framework.
“Instead, the focus is on ensuring that awareness, implementation and enforcement can help safeguard national security, national defence and national sovereignty,” he said.
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