KUALA LUMPUR: Prof Jomo Kwame Sundaram believes that the report by the Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) should remain classified given the sensitive nature of its contents.
Jomo, who is also a member of the CEP, said should the information be made public, it could be abused by "people with all kinds of motive".
"We never wrote it with the intention to get it published. Our intention was to advise the prime minister, which we expect him to share (the report) with relevant ministers, for them to make decisions," he was quoted as saying by Malaysiakini.
Jomo was speaking to reporters after giving a talk at the Securities Commission today.
He described the report’s contents as being “very delicate" and "sensitive".
"There are very delicate things. Information can be abused. It's very important because for example, many things that I talked about (in the report) there are details which obviously would affect certain businesses and we have to be very careful about them (the information).
"So likewise things that affect other countries. We have to be very careful about them.
"It is very important for the people to realise that while this government must be more transparent, more accountable, it does not mean that every step of the way must be (told about)," he was quoted as saying.
Jomo also noted that while not all parts of the report are sensitive, some, if published, could also leave the government open to abuse.
Citing the Sales and Services Tax (SST), he said this was an example of opening up the government to criticism.
"Now, say SST has already been announced. What is the relevance of having an alternative published right now? Because it will be abused by people with all kind of motives, who would say - oh you shouldn't have done this, done that," he was quoted as saying.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, on Monday, said the CEP report submitted to him last week may not be made public. He said this was because the report was made for him and the government to base their decisions on.
Umno secretary-general Annuar Musa had previously urged for the report to be made public and presented in the next Parliament sitting to address the suspicion surrounding the scope of its powers.