This paper reports a study which proposed statutory and policy measures overcoming public information lock out in Malaysia. Public information lock out refers to the presence of the laws which impede the citizens’ right to seek public sector information. In the absence of constitutional guarantee and sui generis right to information law, the citizens’ right to seek public sector information could be impeded by existing legislation, in particular Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. The Act empowers the Commissioner and the Minister to prohibit public access to online contents under s 211(1) and s 266(1)(c). Similarly, Copyright Act 1987 vests in the Government with the exclusive right to control public access to PSI through technological protection measure (s 36A). The study compared the laws and policies in the UK, Canada and New Zealand in order to identify the statutory and policy measures overcoming public information lock out. A cross-sectional survey was also conducted among 40 respondents from government agency, independent statutory body, civil society and academia. The findings of the survey help to provide an insight on the most appropriate statutory and policy measures in overcoming public information lock out in Malaysia.
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In-Text Citation: (Hashim, Yahya, Suhaimi, Mahmood, & Zain, 2018)
To Cite this Article: Hashim, H. N. M., Yahya, N. A., Suhaimi, N. S., Mahmood, A., & Zain, F. M. (2018). Statutory and Policy Measures Overcoming Public Information Lock Out in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 8(10), 1153–1163.
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