Will the rakyat go mad if they read the CEP report?

“It is very important for the people to realise that while this government must be more transparent, more accountable, it does not mean that every step of the way must be (told about)."

- Prof Jomo Kwame Sundaram

COMMENT | Zaid Ibrahim, the maverick of Malaysian politics, thinks the government is mad for classifying the Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) report as an official secret.

CEP member KS Jomo, in arguing that for the contents of the report to remain classified, said, "There are very delicate things. Information can be abused. It's very important because, for example, many things that I talked about (in the report) there are details which obviously would affect certain businesses and we have to be very careful about them (the information). So likewise things that affect other countries. We have to be very careful about them.”

So not only are domestic national interests threatened by the declassification but so will common interests with foreign countries. The prime minister has implied that the findings of the CEP were for his eyes only as if the CEP was some sort of kitchen cabinet. Jomo, meanwhile, said the information should be shared with the relevant ministries. All this for a report which is supposed to save Malaysia...