THE government has no intention of making public the recommendations of the Daim Zainuddin-led Council of Eminent Persons (CEP), Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohamed Hanipa Maidin said.

Hanipa said the report will remain under the Official Secrets Act as it contains confidential information.

He told the Dewan Rakyat that the report was with the prime minister, and that there were no plans to make it public.

“Some have asked why the report is under the OSA,” he said. 

“I want to stress that (laws like) the OSA are necessary in every country.

“Previously, we opposed the OSA, not because of the law itself, but because it was abused to protect corruption and wrongdoing.

“But now, we want to protect information that is confidential,” he said.

He said this in response to Wong Kah Woh (PH-Ipoh Timur), who asked if the government would release the report so that it could be debated on by the public.

Other members of CEP were economist K.S. Jomo, former Bank Negara governor Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, former Petronas chairman Hassan Marican and billionaire tycoon Robert Kuok.

The CEP was dismantled after Pakatan Harapan’s first 100 days in government. – March 28, 2019.