Penang govt urged to waive SD to obtain official documents

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GEORGE TOWN: Penang Gerakan yesterday questioned the sincerity of the DAP-led Penang state government promise to review and waive the requirement for applicants to sign a statutory declaration (SD) to obtain official documents via Freedom of Information (FOI).

Penang Gerakan acting Youth chief Jason Loo Jieh Sheng said the state government had been inconsistent on the matter.

He said last month, Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramasamy, who is in charge of FOI matters, has announced the government would relax the regulations on applying for documents via FOI.

“But I was shocked to receive a letter from the government, dated Oct 6, that I still need to sign SD in order for me to obtain the exco meeting minutes,” he told reporters here yesterday. — Bernama

Loo hoped the government would abolish the requirement to sign SD and instead include another clause under the Penang FOI Enactment 2010, which does not allow anyone to use the document provided by the government for any other commercial purposes. — Bernama