KUALA LUMPUR, 18 Nov 2008: All highway concessionaires, except the one for the Maju Expressway which oversees the Kuala Lumpur-Putrajaya highway, have agreed to declassify their concession agreements with the government.
Works Minister, Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamed, said the documents could be obtained beginning 1 Jan 2009.
He said the decision to declassify the agreement documents was reached at the 17 Oct cabinet meeting based on his ministry’s memorandum titled Re-explanation of Highway Concessions Operating to the Public.
“The cabinet agreed that the agreements be re-classified in line with the Official Secrets Act 1972 after getting agreement from concession companies as per the secrecy clauses in the agreements.
“After that, I directed the Malaysian Highway Authority (MHA) to deal with the companies to get their decision that the agreements be made public, except for one company,” Mohd Zin said at a news conference here today.
The government’s decision to declassify follows calls that the agreements were lopsided and profited concessionaires.
With declassification, the people can study all aspects of highway concession companies’ operations including financial flows.
Regarding Maju Expressway Berhad, Zin said he was waiting to hear from them. “They have not agreed yet but I feel they will,” he said. — Bernama
