The upcoming Freedom of Information bill is predicted to have little effect if the Official Secrets Act 1972 (OSA) continues to exist, a forum heard today.

During the talk titled 'Benefits and challenges of access to information in Malaysia', Universiti Malaya law lecturer Azmi Sharom characterised the OSA as the “giant mad elephant” in the room as the government drafts a legislation allowing a right to information.

“Even if we have a national Freedom of Information (FOI) law, it will be useless if our OSA remains... We can’t go into the FOI with the OSA – this giant mad elephant rampaging around...