Azalina: Freedom of Information Bill must balance openness with safeguards, avoid excessive prohibitions

Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said emphasized that the proposed Freedom of Information Bill 2026 should genuinely facilitate access to information without imposing unnecessary restrictions.

At a National Town Hall Public Hearing, she highlighted the importance of media freedom as a democratic practice and stressed that the legislation must have clear provisions and effective implementation mechanisms.

Feedback from the session indicated a positive reception, though with calls for greater openness, prompting the Special Select Committee to further review and address identified weaknesses.

The bill aims to enhance transparency and governance by improving public access to government information.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28 — The proposed Freedom of Information Bill 2026 must genuinely provide access to information and should not impose excessive restrictions that undermine the purpose of the legislation, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.

She said this was important to ensure the legislation achieved its intended objective, while taking into account the role and freedom of the media as part of the country’s democratic practices.

“You must make sure that if you have the FOI (Freedom of Information Act), it must be for information. You cannot have a bill where everything is prohibited from the outset... and I am very concerned about the media.

“For me, part of democracy in a country is to have that freedom of the media and have the full ability to do their work,” she told a press conference after the National Town Hall Public Hearing Session of the Special Select Committee (JKPK) on the Freedom of Information Bill 2026 at Parliament here today.

Azalina said the feedback received during the session showed positive responses to the proposed legislation, although the public wanted to see greater openness, with a balance still needing to be maintained.

She said the session also enabled the JKPK to hear views from the public, including the younger generation, while helping the committee review weaknesses identified in the existing blue bill.

“We need to look at it again because the blue bill that we have has many weaknesses. We see the weaknesses. So it’s good for this town hall and the public will know that the select committee members are extremely aware of the weaknesses and also understand that there is a need to have a balance,” she said.

On the next steps, Azalina said the JKPK would reconvene after the town hall session and review the issues raised before finalising the process.

“So far, this is only the national town hall. So we will come back for a select committee meeting soon and then we will relook. Basically, technically, there is the government bill, the blue bill and technically the select committee will also have their bill after this. So there will be like two bills,” she said.

Earlier, Azalina said in her welcoming remarks that the Freedom of Information Bill 2026 was tabled for its first reading in the Dewan Rakyat on July 13 before being referred to the JKPK on July 14, with several meetings and proceedings held since then to obtain the views of stakeholders.

She said the review must ensure that the legislation being introduced not only has good intentions but also clear provisions and implementation mechanisms.

“Good laws are not just laws that have good intentions. Good laws must have clear provisions and have application mechanisms that are understandable and can be implemented,” she said.

In July, Azalina said when tabling the Freedom of Information Bill 2026 for its first reading that the Bill was among the key measures to strengthen transparency, accountability and good governance, while enhancing public access to official government information in an orderly manner and in accordance with the law.

She said the Government also took note of various views raised by civil society organisations (CSOs) and stakeholders on several aspects of the Bill. — Bernama

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信息自由部长拿督斯里阿扎丽娜·奥斯曼·赛义德强调，拟议的《2026年信息自由法案》应该真正促进信息获取，而不应施加不必要的限制。

在全国市政厅公开听证会上，她强调了媒体自由作为民主实践的重要性，并强调立法必须有明确的规定和有效的执行机制。

会议反馈表明反响积极，但也有人呼吁提高透明度，这促使特别遴选委员会进一步审查并解决已发现的不足之处。

该法案旨在通过改善公众获取政府信息的渠道来提高透明度和治理水平。

吉隆坡，9月28日讯——首相署（法律及体制改革）部长拿督斯里阿扎丽娜·奥斯曼·赛义德表示，拟议的《2026年信息自由法案》必须真正提供获取信息的机会，不应施加过度的限制，从而损害该法案的目的。

她表示，这对于确保立法实现其预期目标至关重要，同时也要考虑到媒体在国家民主实践中的作用和自由。

“你必须确保，如果你依据《信息自由法》提出申请，那必须是为了获取信息。你不能制定一项从一开始就禁止一切的法案……我对媒体非常担忧。”

“对我来说，一个国家民主的一部分就是拥有媒体自由，并拥有充分发挥其作用的能力，”她在今天于议会举行的2026年信息自由法案特别遴选委员会（JKPK）全国市政厅公开听证会后举行的新闻发布会上说道。

阿扎利娜表示，会议期间收到的反馈表明，公众对拟议的立法给予了积极的回应，尽管公众希望看到更大的透明度，但仍需要保持平衡。

她表示，此次会议也使JKPK能够听取公众（包括年轻一代）的意见，同时帮助委员会审查现有蓝色法案中发现的不足之处。

“我们需要重新审视一下，因为我们目前的蓝色法案有很多缺陷。我们已经看到了这些缺陷。所以，这次市政厅会议很好，公众也会知道，遴选委员会成员非常清楚这些缺陷，也明白需要保持平衡，”她说。

关于下一步措施，阿扎利娜表示，JKPK将在市政厅会议结束后重新召开会议，审查提出的问题，然后再最终确定流程。

“目前为止，这只是全国市政厅会议。我们很快会召开专门委员会会议，届时我们会重新审视这个问题。基本上，从技术层面来说，有政府法案，也就是蓝皮书法案，而专门委员会之后也会提出他们的法案。所以最终会有两份法案，”她说道。

此前，阿扎丽娜在欢迎致辞中表示，《2026 年信息自由法案》于 7 月 13 日在下议院进行一读，随后于 7 月 14 日提交给反腐败和腐败局，此后举行了多次会议和程序，以征求利益相关者的意见。

她表示，审查必须确保出台的立法不仅具有良好的意图，而且还具有明确的条款和实施机制。

“好的法律不仅仅是出发点良好的法律。好的法律必须有清晰的条款，以及易于理解和执行的实施机制，”她说道。

今年 7 月，阿扎利娜在提交 2026 年《信息自由法案》一读时表示，该法案是加强透明度、问责制和良好治理的关键措施之一，同时以有序且依法的方式增强公众获取官方政府信息的途径。

她表示，政府也注意到民间社会组织和利益相关者就该法案的若干方面提出的各种意见。——马新社

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