Najib direct Zin to reissue report on toll concession agreements

PUTRAJAYA, — Works Minister Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamad will issue a statement on the government's reported declassification of toll concession agreements, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today.

"I think I will ask the minister to make a statement to ensure (that it is) technically correct. I will leave it to the Works Minister to make a statement," he told reporters after attending the presentation of Felda youth awards for 2008 at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre here.

Najib, who is also Finance Minister, was asked to comment on a news report that the government has declassified toll concession agreements.

It also reported that this meant that the contents of the contracts, which have for long been speculated as one-sided agreements benefiting toll concessionaires, would no longer be classified as official secrets.

Quoting sources, the newspaper said that with the decision, made at a recent Cabinet meeting, having or having knowledge of the contents of these agreements no longer constituted an offence under the Official Secrets Act. — Bernama