It was not a fruitful trip to Parliament today for a group of NGOs who wanted BN lawmakers to commit to asking the government to postpone the controversial National Security Council Bill 2015.
This was especially so when BN Backbenchers Council (BNBBC) chairperson Shahrir Samad told them he felt insulted and placed the memorandum back onto National Human Rights Society (Hakam) president S Ambiga.
The incident took place outside Parliament when the group tried to get Shahrir to agree on persuading the government and BN MPs to postpone the bill for the sake of the people.
"Are you trying to insult me? You said I don't care about the people. I will not stand here and be insulted by you," said an upset Shahrir.
He then walked off but not before placing the memorandum back onto a stack of its copies held at chest level by Ambiga.
Speaking to the media, Ambiga said, "He should be able to take criticism."
"To me, this does not reflect on me but it reflects on him," she said, adding that Shahrir used to listen to NGOs and facilitate meetings between them and the government.
"He was just angry. I hope he will reconsider and call on BN to adjourn the bill. I am appealing to this side of him," said the former Bar Council chairperson.
Ambiga came by at 2pm together with Bersih chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah, Bar Council president Steven Thiru and 10 other NGO representatives.
According to her, the response from BN lawmakers was mixed with some stopping to accept the memo and others ignoring them.
She rapped those who ignored the memo saying they they were not bothered about what the people have to say.
"They forgot it was the rakyat who put them there," she said, adding that not one BN MP committed to persuading the government to postpone the bill.
"We want the bill to be postponed, (the government needs to) engage with the people and civil society before putting to the House again," said Ambiga.
The new bill would give the NSC extensive powers to deal with national security issues.
This includes declaring any area as a security area if the authorities are convinced that there is the likelihood of harm to people, territories, key infrastructure and the economy.
It will also provide special powers to security forces deployed to a security area.
Undermines parliamentary democracy
According to Maria, the memorandum called for the motion on the bill to be postponed.
"(This is) so that the public knows more about this and to have a public debate about it," she told reporters after leaving Parliament.
The memorandum also calls for a select committee to be formed to gather public opinion on the bill.
"Let us do that for this bill and not rush it through.
"This is actually very serious for our parliamentary democracy. It actually undermines our parliamentary democracy," Maria (photo) said.
According to a leaflet distributed on social media, the group of NGOs was supposed to gather at Padang Merbok at 1.45pm before marching to Parliament to hand in the memorandum.
However, most of them showed up directly outside Parliament at 2pm, completely bypassing Padang Merbok.
The group of about 40 was initially barred from going onto Parliament grounds by police, who cited security reasons.
"Do we look like terrorists? Don't be afraid of the rakyat," Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) co-founder Eric Paulsen told the police.
However, several opposition MPs came out and escorted a small group of about 20 protesters into Parliament grounds.
The MPs included Amanah's Kota Raja MP Siti Mariah Mahmud, Kuala Krai MP Mohd Hatta Ramli and Parit Buntar MP Mujahid Yusof Rawa as well as PKR's Batu MP Tian Chua.
Civil rights groups have slammed the bill, saying it will give the prime minister, who will be a member of the NSC, even wider powers than before.
They have also criticised the bill for being open-ended and vague in defining key terms in the legislation.
Also, they pointed out that the NSC is unnecessary as there are already sufficient laws pertaining to national security. -Mkini
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