Under new government, CIJ looks forward to reform laws on Right to Information with renewed optimism
Speaking to Malay Mail, Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) executive director Wathshlah G. Naidu explained that the Right to Information is a fundamental right recognised under international law which empowers citizens to seek and inspect any information from their government.
“The Right to Information means that there is a presumption, a need to know what’s there. We also look at proactive disclosure, meaning that we expect the State and all its branches to make sure that information is all transparent and all made public.
“It is not absolute and there will also be certain instances where certain information may be exempted from disclosure based on national security, public order and data privacy, but the presumption has to be that everything is public and whoever is restricting or denying the rights has to give reasons why (they refused a disclosure),” she told Malay Mail during an interview here.