Date    : 22 July 2009 (Wednesday)
Time   : 3pm
Venue : Training Centre, PACOS, Kota Kinabalu

Participants: Community organisers within the Kota Kinabalu area, who are mostly young people and with experience mediating training and organising in communities.

Tentative program:

2.30pm – 3pm : Registration

3pm : Introduction to Objectives of Forum

3.15pm : “Freedom Of Information : Right to Information: Empowering the Rakyat” - V.Gayathry, Executive Director, Centre for Independent Journalism

4pm : Q&A

4.30pm : Refreshments and Programme Ends

It is a short programme that would discuss issues related to freedom of information and local experiences of how lack of information impedes good governance.

The next awareness workshop, which is open to Kelantan Bar Council members, media, NGOs and politicians, will be held on 23 July, 2009 in Kelantan, details of which are as follows:

Date: 23 July 2009 (Thursday)

Time: 2:30pm

Venue: Seminar Room, Hotel Ridel, Lot A-05-01, Blok A, Jalan Pasar Lama, Seksyen 9, 15100 Kota Bahru, Kelantan.

Tentative program:

2.30pm – 3pm: Registration

3pm-3:15pm Welcome remarks by Chairman En Aziz Haniff, Kelantan Bar Council

3:15pm-4:15pm “Freedom of Information: Right To Information-Empowering the Rakyat” – Khairiah Mokhtaruddin (Programme & Research Associate Studies, Centre For Public Policy Studies) and Sevan Doraisamy (Programme Director, Centre For Independent Journalism)

4:15pm-5pm: Q&A

5pm-5: 30pm Program ends/Refreshments will be served

TI-M is pleased to announce that our Secretary-General, Dr. Loi Kheng Min, has been appointed as a Subang Jaya municipal councillor (MPSJ) under the NGO quota, for a one-year term ending 8th July 2010. Dr. Loi said that he would strive to improve the transparency and accountability in the local council and curb corruption in public procurement, such as tenders. Our congratulations to Dr. Loi on this well-deserved recognition and wish him all the very best as he faces the challenges ahead.

Congratulations and best wishes!

FORESTS are the key to the world’s environmental well-being. Their degradation is a pressing social, economic and environmental challenge, affecting the daily lives of millions of people. The importance of forests has long been recognised, yet even after years of advocacy from local and global pressure groups, the illegal harvesting of timber continues to thrive on the back of corrupt behaviour and opaque systems.

Transparency International’s Forest Governance Integrity Programme (FGI) tackles corruption as a primary driver of illegal logging and poor forest management. The programme looks at corruption at all stages in the timber production and processing chain and examines how it facilitates the unsustainable harvesting, production, conversion, export, import and procurement of timber and wood products. The activities of a regional FGI centre in Indonesia and local FGI units in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands will contribute to curbing corruption and improving forest governance. This will be done by using Tl’s proven strengths and experiences in research, analysis, monitoring, awareness-raising and advocacy, and using them to build on, and strengthen, existing forest governance institutions and initiatives, and help create new ones.

GOAL The Forest Governance Integrity Programme works towards a society where corruption-free forest governance and sustainable management enable increased economic development, poverty reduction and environmental protection.

WHAT WILL THE PROGRAMME ACHIEVE?

The programme contributes to curbing corruption and strengthening forest governance systems in Asia Pacific through improved transparency and accountability. Specifically, it focuses on the following nine Prime Areas of Intervention:

• Reducing political corruption: Improved transparency, accountability and anti-corruption measures in public institutions and political parties in the exercise of their forest sector-related functions.

• Reducing foreign bribery in supply countries: Improved transparency, accountability and anti-corruption measures by forest sector companies in their overseas operations and in their transactions with foreign public officials.

• Reducing corruption in licensing and concessions: Improved transparency, accountability and anti-corruption measures in the issuance and ownership of forest-related licenses and concessions.

• Reducing incidence of timber laundering: Improved transparency, accountability and anti-corruption measures put in place for public institutions and private enterprises responsible for the trans-national movement and certification of timber.

• Reducing judicial corruption: Improved judicial integrity in the adjudication of forest sector-related prosecution and litigation.

• Improving due diligence of financial institutions: Improved practices of financial institutions which service forest sector clients; decreased incidence of money laundering and reduction in loans to companies engaged in illegal forest activities.

• Reducing unsustainable demand for timber and wood products: Improved customs and procurement regulations in countries with sizeable imports.

• Strengthening national/regional forest governance initiatives: More effective development and implementation of initiatives such as the EU FLEGT VPAs (Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade Voluntary Partnership Agreements].

• Strengthening international governance initiatives.

Current Status of Project:

The FGI programme is well on track and its first component, the Forest Governance Integrity Anti Corruption Advocacy Analysis and Monitoring

(FAAA) Phase 1 is rapidly developing.

The Kick Off Meeting was held in Jakarta from 29th of June till the 2nd of July 2009 with the participation of the five involved countries.

The key areas of focus during the Kick Off meeting were on Introduction to the Project, Project Management, Finance Management, Work Plan and Knowledge Management.

Follow-up action proceeding from the Kick Off meeting for the Malaysian Chapter would be:

· To have closer ties with FGI regional office in Jakarta and TI-S

· To produce diagnostic report on Forestry in from Malaysia

· To source for matching fund ( 20% of Funding)

For more information on the FGI project please refer to following link:  http://www.transparency.org.my/scan0007.pdf