Azmin: CEP report doesn't affect national security, should be made public

The Council of Eminent Persons' (CEP) report should be made public and not be classified under the Official Secrets Act (OSA), said Azmin Ali.

In saying this, the Economic Affairs Minister said today that the report only contained the council's recommendations on how the government can move Malaysia's economy forward.

"It does not involve national security," Azmin told reporters after visiting natural disaster victims in Gombak this evening.

He said he "certainly" supports the idea that the document be made public.

Azmin's remarks come a day after and in contradictory of de facto deputy law minister Hanipa Maidin's statement in Parliament.

Hanipa had said that the CEP report would remain under OSA to protect confidential information in it.

He was responding to a question from Wong Kah Woh (Harapan-Ipoh Timur) who had asked whether the government planned to make the report public.

While Azmin said that he was not sure if CEP was classified under the act, he stressed that the role of CEP was to put up recommendations and study all proposals for the prime minister.

"So the role of CEP is to put up the recommendations and to study all the proposals.

"That's what they have done last year, and they have submitted the full report to the PM. And from time to time, the PM tables these recommendations in cabinet, and we will discuss.

"There are some recommendations that we will consider favorably and some need to (be) further studied, and this is quite normal," he said.

CEP was formed on May 12 last year, three days after Pakatan Harapan came into power after defeating BN in the 14th general election.

The formation of the five-member council was among Dr Mahathir Mohamad's first tasks as prime minister.

Led by Mahathir’s confidante and former finance minister Daim Zainuddin, the CEP interviewed some 350 people from 200 organisations – many of whom were from the government and GLCs – to help formulate a report on economic and financial reform policies for the prime minister.

The report was submitted 100 days after the CEP was formed.

However, Mahathir had said last year that the CEP report would not be made public as the CEP's job was to investigate and report to him alone. - Mkini