FOI bill puts Malaysia in bottom 10 globally, says rights group

Centre of Law and Democracy says Malaysia’s proposed law would rank 137th out of 142 countries assessed.

On July 13, Malaysia's proposed Freedom of Information Bill 2026 was forwarded to a parliamentary select committee for thorough examination. According to the Centre of Law and Democracy (CLD), a Canada-based non-profit, the bill would place Malaysia among the bottom 10 countries globally in terms of right-to-information (RTI) laws, ranking it 137th out of 142 assessed nations.

The CLD granted the bill a total score of 47 out of 150 possible points, highlighting its weak legislative efforts. The chief concern of the CLD was the bill's requesting procedures, which it deemed unusual and insufficient, restricting access to four purposes: correcting personal information, non-commercial research or education, media reporting, and addressing prejudicial acts by public authorities.

This severely limits the reach of the law for ordinary Malaysians. Additionally, the CLD criticized the bill's five-year jail term for misusing or disclosing obtained information and a potentially broad secrecy provision that could even prevent ministers from discussing matters within their own ministries. The oversight mechanism, relying on an unpassed Ombudsman Act, was also deemed inadequate, with the CLD recommending a public interest override, capped response deadlines, and a dedicated, independent oversight body.

Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.