KUALA LUMPUR — The proposed Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill 2026 in Malaysia may be passed in the Dewan Rakyat by a simple majority, without requiring a constitutional amendment, according to Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for Law and Institutional Reform.

Azalina described this as her personal perspective during a national townhall hearing held at Parliament on Monday, where she acknowledged ongoing deliberations by the Parliamentary Special Select Committee (PSSC) reviewing the Bill. She noted that while the Attorney General’s Chambers maintains that a constitutional amendment is necessary, some constitutional experts disagree, suggesting the legislation may be enacted with a lower threshold.

The PSSC has been engaging with public feedback, including views from younger Malaysians, to identify and address weaknesses in the current draft of the FOI Bill. Azalina emphasized that the committee will reconvene to consider these concerns in the coming meetings. She cautioned that it remains uncertain whether the Bill will be tabled in the forthcoming parliamentary session, given that the committee’s review is not yet complete.

Azalina highlighted the importance of ensuring the Bill genuinely grants public access to government information, warning against provisions that could overly restrict transparency and thereby defeat the legislation’s purpose. “If an FOI Bill prohibits everything from the outset, then we might as well have not made the Bill in the first place,” she said.

The minister also underlined the necessity of safeguarding media freedom as part of democratic norms, stressing that journalists must be able to perform their duties without undue constraints. The committee is assessing the potential need for an ombudsman or an internal regulatory body to oversee the FOI process, examining how such mechanisms could function effectively within the government framework.

At the same time, Azalina acknowledged the need to balance the public’s right to information against legitimate government interests related to confidentiality and national security. She stressed that the government should avoid enacting FOI legislation merely for symbolic purposes and instead ensure it delivers meaningful transparency.

The FOI Bill aims to establish a formal legal process through which members of the public can request access to official documents and government-held information. The Bill was introduced for its first reading in the Dewan Rakyat on July 13, after which it was referred to the PSSC for further scrutiny.