Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) urged the government to explain why the water concession agreement and audited accounts of Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) are classified.

Its president Ramon Navaratman was responding to Energy, Water and Communication Minister Dr Lim Keng Yaik who said the information is under the Official Secrets Act and cannot be made public except with the Cabinet's approval.

"The classification of such information as "official secrets" seems to go counter to the principles of transparency, accountability and good governance.

"These concessions pertain to issues that are of vital public interests with direct impacts on public funds and taxpayers' and consumers' interests," Ramon said in a statement.

He said the government should review its decision.

"In the interests of transparency, good governance and accountability, TI-M calls upon the government to urgently review the matter and consider releasing important documents such as these to public scrutiny and evaluation," he added.

He said the government must be committed to promote transparency and accountability in the public procurement system and this includea privatisation and concessionaire agreements.

"The commitment must be practised across the board, without exception," he added.

Judicial review

On Monday, the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) and 15 individuals filed an application for a judicial review against the government's decision not to reveal the contents of the water concession agreement and audit report.

The application, filed in the Kuala Lumpur High Court, named the Selangor and federal governments respectively and Lim as respondents.

Judicial review is the power of a court to review legislative, executive, and administrative decisions that clash with provisions of the Federal Constitution.

The applicants want access to the documents and for a declaration that the documents are not classified.

Last October, Lim announced that the water tariff would be increased by 15 percent for Klang Valley residents from Nov 1.

He said Syabas was entitled to that increase because it had successfully reduced non-revenue water (NRW - water stolen or lost through leakage) by more than five per cent within a year, according to the concession agreement.