Army stops ex-RMAF man from speaking on NSC bill

A retired Air Force officer was instructed by Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) chief Jen Roslan Saad not to speak at a forum on the National Security Council (NSC) Bill 2015.

RMAF's former policy and legal advisor Lt Col (Rtd) Mohamad Daud Sulaiman was supposed to speak at the forum dubbed ‘National Security Council Bill - Chain of Command Compromised?’ but was forced to pulled out.

"I know that some of you have come to hear Lt Col Mohamad Daud Sulaiman. I think we have been barking up the right tree in terms of what we plan to say.

"We have been informed that Lt Col Mohamad Daud have been ordered by the chief of Air Force not to be a panelist tonight," said Andrew Khoo, the co-chairperson of Bar Council Human Rights Committee.

The forum was organised to discuss if the chain of command of the Armed Forces has been compromised, as the declaration of a security zone is not a matter that is proclaimed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong but by the prime minister under the NSC bill.

"Obviously we are saying the right things. We are alerting the public to the right issues. Because of that, we thank the chief of Air Force for indirectly confirming many of our concerns," said Khoo.

Daud, who attended the forum, declined to comment when approached by the media.

According to him, the instruction included not to speak to journalists on the bill.

It is learnt that despite Daud being a retired personnel, the armed forces can still prevent him from speaking publicly, as what he may divulge in his presentation could be detrimental to its security concerns.

The controversial bill was bulldozed at Dewan Rakyat on Dec 3; the Senate will be debating the bill next week.

Other speakers were Bar Council president Steven Thiru, National Human Rights Society (Hakam) president Ambiga Sreenevasan, Research for Social Advancement (REFSA) senior fellow Lam Choong Wah, as well as Khoo.

The forum was held tonight at the Raja Aziz Addruse Auditorium by Bar Council Human Rights Committee. More than 150 people turned up for the forum.

[More to follow]

-Mkini