The Sunday Star
by Roger Tan

The three legal issues that arose last week showed how pivotal it is to ensure our laws are enacted, interpreted and enforced accurately and efficiently. If not, these laws will be transformed into an ass.

Three interesting legal issues arose in the last two weeks. First, the Kuala Lumpur High Court (Appellate And Special Powers 4) last Monday ruled that the water concession agreement entered into by the Federal Government, the Selangor state government and Syarikat Bekalan Air Sdn Bhd (Syabas) could be made public, including an audit report which was said to have been presented to the Cabinet.

Second, the proposal by the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry to amend the Copyright Act, 1987 (Act 332) to hold landlords liable if their tenants have infringed intellectual property and copyright rights on the premises was greeted by an outcry from real estate owners.

Third, the Law Reform Committee headed by the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk V.K. Liew proposed to amend the Statutory Declarations Act, 1960 (Act 13) to forbid Commissioners for Oaths (COs) to attest the execution of any statutory declaration (SD) which is contentious or criminal in nature.

Disclosure of Water Concession Agreement and Audit Report

Last Monday, Judicial Commissioner Hadhariah Syed Ismail allowed the disclosure of the documents to the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) and 13 others on two grounds:

> The applicants were adversely affected by the decision of former Energy, Water and Communications Minister Tun Dr Lim Keng Yaik not to make public the documents and thereby they had the locus standi or legal standing to sue; and

> The disclosure would not be detrimental to national security or public interest.

The judge added that the applicants had locus standi because they were paying consumers within the water concession area. As Syabas has monopoly over the distribution of treated water in that area, the applicants would have no choice but to pay for any increase in water tariff as there is no other alternative water distributor there.

She added that as water is essential to life, the applicants’ implied constitutional right to life has also been infringed.

As regards the disclosure of the two documents, the judge said she had read through them and found no information detrimental to national security or public interest. She also took note that the Selangor government and Syabas had indicated no objection to the disclosure, and some of the information relating to the water tariff increase was already known to the media and public.