National Security Law Will Give Malaysia’s PM Broader Powers: Critics

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is poised to broaden his powers under a national security law that will take effect Aug. 1, while critics warn that the embattled leader could use it to crush dissent.

The National Security Council (NSC) Act will give the executive branch power to declare an emergency without having to go through Malaysia’s king – as guaranteed by its constitution, legal experts say.

The law also empowers the NSC to authorize stops, searches and arrests of people, as well as searches of and seizure of private property without a warrant – all in the name of protecting national security – they say.

The implementation of the National Security Council (NSC) Act comes at a time of heightened political tensions in Malaysia and amid renewed calls by the opposition for Najib to resign over a financial corruption scandal known as the 1MDB affair.

The law’s implementation is unusual because it was done without royal assent from the country’s Conference of Rulers, critics point out.

The Malaysian parliament passed the NSC bill without amendments in December, and the Conference of Rulers – a body of sultans, rajas and governors, which normally grants royal assent to a bill 30 days after it is presented to the king – never consented to it, according to civil liberties lawyer Syahredzan Johan.

In February, the rulers issued a statement indicating that some of the law’s provisions needed to be refined, he noted.

“I personally do not know why the Conference of Rulers asked for a review of the bill, but this law would allow the government to bypass the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (king) altogether,” Syahredzan told BenarNews.

The National Security Council  consists of the prime minister, who chairs the council, the deputy PM, who serves as its vice chair, the ministers of defense, home affairs, communications and multimedia, the chief of the armed forces, the national police chief and the government’s chief secretary.

Under the new law, the prime minister is empowered to declare any place a security area for six months at a time, subject to renewal. The NSC may then order the deployment of any security forces or other government personnel to the area in question.

“They also have the authority to stop and search individuals, enter and search any premises, and take possession of any land, building or movable properties,” Syahredzan told BenarNews.

Within the declared security area, Syahredzan added, security forces may arrest anyone alleged to have committed any offence under any written laws, without requiring a warrant.

The law also empowers the NSC to appoint a director of operations, who is only answerable to the council and has unrestricted powers, the lawyer claimed.

Najib: ‘Deliberately misinterpreted’

In a speech on Tuesday to a conference of national police chiefs representing members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Najib mentioned the new law as he defended his government against criticism from human rights advocates over its use of security laws.

He said these laws were needed to protect the nation from threats posed by trans-national terrorist groups such as Islamic State (IS). According to Malaysia’s police chief, IS was behind a grenade attack that injured several people at a nightclub on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur last month.

“[M]y government will never apologize for placing the safety and security of the Malaysian people first,” Najib told the ASEANAPOL Conference in Kuala Lumpur.

“These laws were necessary and other countries have since been following our lead,” he said, referring to the NSA Act, the Security Offenses (Special Measures) Act – or SOSMA, the Special Measures against Terrorism in Foreign Countries Act, and the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

Since last year Malaysian authorities have arrested dozens of suspected IS members, and have warned that Malaysians returning from combat stints with IS in Syria or Iraq could launch terrorist attacks on home soil.

“These laws have aided the authorities in monitoring possible terrorists and Daesh (IS) sympathizers.”

In a post on his blog, Najib shot back Wednesday at critics of the National Security Act. He accused them of twisting some of its provisions.

“We were criticized for passing these laws, including by some who fear mongered for political reasons,” the prime minister wrote. “The National Security Council Act in particular has been deliberately misinterpreted. It is not the same as a declaration of national emergency – that power remains with His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong – and Parliament remains sitting with oversight on any security area declared.”

‘It can easily be misused’

Legal observers, however, question whether another anti-terror law is necessary and warn that its broad language defining “national security” could be used to arrest people who criticize the government.

“At a time when we have ample terrorism laws already in force to deal with real threats, it is highly questionable that the PM sought to widen his executive powers in such manner,” Melissa Sasidaran, coordinator for the Lawyers for Liberty, a local NGO, told BenarNews.

Since Najib became engulfed last year in allegations of  corruption linked with the troubled state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), his government, among other actions, blocked websites of local news organizations that were reporting on the scandal and those of grassroots groups that were organizing massive street demonstrations calling for his resignation.

“Officially they want the NSC to fight against terrorism and foreign incursions. But it can easily be misused to shut down dissent,” Azmi Sharom, a Malaysian political analyst and law professor, told BenarNews.

Malaysia’s opposition bloc is planning to stage an anti-Najib demonstration on Saturday, in light of a dozen new lawsuits filed by the U.S. Department of Justice last week, and which seek to recover more than $1 billion in assets paid for with money allegedly stolen from 1MDB, according to reports.

“The likelihood of the NSC being utilized in order to crack down against any act of civil movement is likely to steadily increase as maneuvering space for the PM decreases,” Sevan Doraisamy, who directs local human rights NGO Suaram, told Reuters.