The National Security Council Bill 2015 (NSC Bill) will not give the prime minister, who will chair the council once the law is passed, dictator-like powers, argued Minister in the Prime Minister Department Shahidan Kassim.

"The powers given under the bill will not make the prime minister a dictator, as the power to declare a state of emergency still remain with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong," Shahidan said when tabling the bill for its second reading in the Dewan Negara today.

He explained that the scale of the state of emergency which the ruler can proclaim is bigger in the sense of activities affected where the federal government would take over the state administration, while the security area declared by a prime minister is only in a small scale.

The bill would not impact the status of the Agong as the supreme commander of the armed forces as enshrined in Article 41 of the Federal Constitution, Shahidan said.

There is no necessity to refer the bill to the council of rulers as their privilege, status, dignity and freedom will not be affected, he added.

He denied that the prime minister will have unilateral powers to declare an area as a security zone, as stipulated under Section 18 of NSC Bill.

"The prime minister only declares the security area on the advice of the National Security Council, not in his individual capacity. The members who sit in the council have knowledge of national security.

"Thus, the accusations that the law gives the prime minister extensive powers are baseless," Shahidan said.

He said although the prime minister will be allowed to draft relevant regulations under the bill, they can be challenged in the court of law.

Bill provides check and balance

Citing the composition of the council where half of the members come from the executive and the other half from the administration, he argued that the bill provides check and balance.

"There is check-and-balance in the bill. From the public office, we have the the chief secretary to the government, chief of the armed forces, the inspector-general of police, and from the executive, we have deputy prime minister, home minister, communications and multimedia minister," he said.

It is expected the Upper House of Parliament will seek to pass the bill by tomorrow - the last day of the session.

The controversial bill, slammed for giving the prime minister absolute power to receive intelligence and address security issues, was passed in Dewan Rakyat on Dec 3.

The bill will not affect the fundamental rights of the people as protected by Article 5, 9, 10 and 13 of the Federal Constitution, said Shahidan.

"The bill will not erode the rights enjoyed by all states, including Sabah and Sarawak," he said.

While the government was slammed for not defining the term "national security" in the bill, Shahidan argued this is a global norm.

"(We did not) include national security as the form of security threat is very dynamic, it varies from time to time according to different situations.

"This is, however, in line with international norm and practice, where most of the countries did not define national security," he said.

Shahidan said an inquest can still be conducted if a magistrate feels a death which has occurred in a security area is suspicious.