COMMENT Firstly, allow me to congratulate the Chief of Defence Forces General Zulkifeli Mohd Zin for being appointed as the first director-general of the National Security Council (NSC).

In a country which is largely torn by powerful Umno politicians, the new director-general has the responsibility which he has to uphold as his sacred duty, to ensure that the entire armed forces is loyal to only one person, who is none other than the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as clearly spelt out under the Federal Constitution.

We have seen, for example, how former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad now apologising for amending the Federal Constitution when he was Umno president to curtail the role of the Agong in the legislative branch.

What has not been amended, however, is the fact that the Agong is still the Supreme Commander of the Royal Malaysian Armed Forces.

The prime minister and his cabinet ministers are only a branch of the government known as the executive.

The government of the day through its parliamentary whip can introduce any law, without even going through the proper parliamentary debates and what’s more, the endorsement from the Conference of Malay Rulers.

Whatever the case is, the Federal Constitution is the highest law in the country, and we know that any failure on the part of the director-general can make him liable to an act of treason.

At this juncture, it appears to me that even the National Security Council (NSC) Act 2016 was passed without proper consultation with the Agong and when the crunch comes, I pray that the general will make a wise decision not to shed innocent blood.

His position is made harder if he is being pressured by an unseen third person, to whom he reports. If he cannot implement the instruction, his position may become untenable; as there would be others who are willing to carry out the instruction issued by someone in the corridors of power.

In all fairness, this could immediately put Zulkifeli in a very difficult situation, especially if there is a change of regime. Treason is punishable by death.

We do not want another situation where people in the corridors of power continue to make use of our civil servants or any government agencies to cover up their wrongdoings in order to remain in power.

As members of the civil society, we have seen enough of the tendency of our politicians in power to abuse the power invested in them.

Even the NSC Act 2016 has empowered the prime minister to call the shots to declare an emergency. It is no longer the Agong, who is supposed to be the Supreme Commander if we deem the Federal Constitution as the supreme law of the country.

We are a country which practises democracy with constitutional monarchy. Therefore, any law that is passed which is not in line with the Federal Constitution should never have been passed by the Parliament in the first place.

Wrong actions will be condemned worldwide

One of the major reasons why the opposition lawmakers and members of the civil society are concerned about the NSC Act is that we do not want to see any incidents that can mar the image of the country.

The NSC Bill was passed by Parliament with great haste, without going through the proper process.

Till today, Beijing is still having to face worldwide criticisms for its bloody Tiananmen Square massacre on June 4, 1989. Every time the name Tiananmen is mentioned, the image of the bloodshed is immediately conjured.

Whatever justification was given, till today, the deaths of thousands of peaceful young civilians who were killed by their own armed forces are condemned by many. We will never accept the cruelty of troops who massacred these student demonstrators using their assault rifles and tanks.

Today, Deng Xiao Ping’s leadership is marred by the hardline stance that he endorsed, as well as then-premier Li Peng who declared martial law and backed military action against his own people.

Deng was then the chairperson of the Central Military Commission and the paramount leader in China, while Li Peng was the premier, and upon the departure of Zhao Ziyang who was general-secretary of the Communist Party of China and the first vice-chairperson of the Central Military Commission, Li Peng became the acting executive authority in Beijing.

Both are largely responsible for the bloodshed of their fellow countrymen at Tiananmen Square.

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.