NGO mulls legal action over non-compliance with FOI order on SIP concession

A community advocacy group is considering judicial enforcement after Selangor authorities failed to comply with a binding freedom of information order regarding the Selangor Intelligent Parking (SIP) concession.

PJ Sejahtera said it issued a formal notice of non-compliance on Sept 23 to the Selangor state secretary’s office, Menteri Besar Selangor Incorporated (MBI Selangor) and its subsidiary, Rantaian Mesra Sdn Bhd (RMSB), after MBI Selangor and RMSB failed to comply with an April 14 order to disclose 15 categories of SIP documents.

The group said that more than 140 days after the deadline lapsed on May 5, MBI Selangor had disclosed nothing, while RMSB only partially complied on three categories.

The order was issued by Badan Maklumat Negeri Selangor following a ruling by the state appeals board.

In a statement today, PJ Sejahtera’s pro tem chairman Tunku Johan Mansur said a binding order from a duly constituted appeals board had yielded negligible compliance thus far.

“A ruling nobody is compelled to follow is not a right to information at all,” he said.

PJ Sejahtera said a representative presented the case to Parliament’s special select committee on the Freedom of Information Bill on Sept 28, and that the group sent a written submission to committee chair Azalina Othman Said.

The SIP project drew scrutiny over the classification of documents under the Official Secrets Act and the introduction of a second concessionaire, Selmax Sdn Bhd, alongside RMSB.

Menteri besar Amirudin Shari previously pledged to declassify most documents, but said releasing the main agreement between MBI Selangor, the state government and the companies involved could be difficult if it contained trade secrets.