NSC Bill 2015 is a lurch towards an authoritarian gov’t

comments     Steven Thiru     Published     Updated

COMMENT The Malaysian Bar is alarmed by the proposed National Security Council Bill 2015 (‘the Bill’) that was tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on Dec 1, 2015 by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Shahidan Kassim, and which is reportedly scheduled for its second reading today. The basis for this new law is unclear, and the manner in which it is being rushed through the Dewan Rakyat is inexcusable.

The Bill is an insidious piece of legislation that confers and concentrates vast executive powers in a newly created statutory body called the National Security Council (‘NSC’).

The NSC consists of key members of the executive, namely the prime minister as chairperson and the deputy prime minister as deputy chairperson, as well as the defence minister, home affairs minister, communication and multimedia minister, chief secretary to the government, chief of defence forces, and the inspector-general of police (see Clause 6).

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