By Amanda L
KUCHING, Oct 13: Padungan assemblyman Chong Chieng Jen questioned why Hansard records remained inaccessible to the public after his attempt to raise the issue during the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) debate on preserving the State’s history was cut short today.
He questioned why Speaker Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar was being secretive about the records, which document proceedings and statements made in the assembly over its 159-year history.
“Why are you so secretive about disclosing the Hansard? What secrets are you trying to keep within the Speaker’s office?” he asked during a press conference at the DUS complex today.
Chong said the records should form part of the proposed memorial archive being discussed during the debate on the Sarawak State Library (Amendment) Bill 2026, allowing the public to access historical accounts of lawmaking, government policies and key decisions.
He said the records covered significant periods in Sarawak’s history, from the White Rajah era and Japanese occupation to the transfer of Sarawak to British colonial rule and the formation of Malaysia.
“These are all records of history, and all these should be made known to all Sarawakians,” he said.
He added that the documents could shed light on discussions surrounding the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) Report and the Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA 1974), including what was actually debated in the assembly.
“If you want to write a history about the formation of Malaysia, where do you start? You start from the Hansard record,” he said.
Chong, who also serves as the Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak chairman said members of the public had to write to the Speaker to request copies, with the decision to grant access left to the Speaker’s discretion. Alternatively, they could approach assemblymen who might have copies.
He pointed out that the Victorian State Parliament of Australia, the Australian Parliament, the United Kingdom Parliament and the Malaysian Parliament had made their records available online, unlike Sarawak.
He also warned that the lack of online access could hamper academics and historians researching the State’s political and constitutional history.
He said he had attempted to raise the matter during the DUN debate but was cut off by Asfia on the grounds that he was discussing history.
“Why folk tales and traditional customs could be considered for preservation and public access, while records documenting the assembly’s lawmaking process were not similarly accessible.
“I believe all Sarawakians have a right to access the contents of our Hansard records, from the first day of proceedings until today,” he said.
Chong urged the minister concerned to direct the Speaker to release the records for preservation in a digital memorial archive accessible to the public.
He said making the records available would allow Sarawakians to better understand the State’s history through original accounts of what transpired in the assembly, rather than relying on what he described as GPS or Barisan Nasional propaganda. —DayakDaily
