Kg Tunku assemblyman appeals to cops to protect govt documents

sun2surf
Giam Say Khoon

PETALING JAYA (March 14, 2008): Kampung Tunku assemblyman Lau Weng San today urged the police to ensure the "safety" of Selangor government documents and investigate whether any such documents have been maliciously destroyed by some state government officers.

In a press conference today , Lau said after seeing photos of state government officers allegedly shredding some state documents, which were posted online, he lodged a police report yesterday and requested help from the police as he has not officially been sworn in as an assemblyman and that he has no authorisation to enter the state building in Shah Alam, which has been cordoned off since polling day on March 8.

He said according to online news reports, the incident of shredding the state documents took place on March 10 when the new Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim was having a closed-door meeting with state secretary Datuk Ramli Mahmud and state treasurer Datuk Mohd Arif Abdul Rahman in the state building.

"About six government officers were found shredding the documents that labelled as "private and confidential" on the 12th floor by some photographers who were covering the meeting.

"Some of these document could be the meeting minutes of the (former) state exco, which are very important for the new state government to use as reference and I am worried that they are trying to hide or destroy the evidence of something that were unlawful," he told reporters.

Lau said he hoped the police will determine whether the action of the officers were legal, and if not, they must face legal consequences.

When asked to respond on the incident, Khalid was quoted saying on Monday (May 10): “We believe that government servants are responsible people and would not resort to unnecessary measures. We can’t be suspicious of just anyone. Just think good of all.”

“Civil servants must understand that politicians come and go, but civil servants will continue to work. In fact, official documents can’t be shredded completely, as it is not just one or two pieces. There are a few thousand pages and hundreds of bound copies.”

The pictures were also published on Bukit Lanjan state assemblyman Elizabeth Wong's blog at elizabethwong.wordpress.com