Why is the NSC not parked under POTA?

Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan should also explain why there was not a single reference to the threat of terrorism or terrorist attacks in the "monstrous" NSC Bill passed by the Dewan Rakyat.

KUALA LUMPUR: If the National Security Council (NSC) Bill was aimed primarily at fighting terrorism, the National Security Council should be parked under POTA and not be created by another statute which empowers the Prime Minister to usurp the constitutional powers of the Agong, Cabinet and the 13 State Governments, said suspended Gelang Patah MP Lim Kit Siang in a statement.

Lim, who is also DAP Parliamentary Leader, was commenting on Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed defending the NSC Bill on the grounds that it was part of Putrajaya acting more proactively in the fight against terrorism and not intended to usurp the constitutional powers of the Agong in declaring a state of emergency for the country. “Nur Jazlan should explain why the Wanita Umno leader Shahrizat Abdul Jalil had a different understanding of the NSC Bill.

“She made it clear in her speech at the recent Wanita Umno annual general meeting that the Bill was aimed at not just terrorists but also anti-government elements who want to topple the government by peaceful and democratic means.”

“My challenge to the Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to a public debate still stands if he sticks to his claim that the NSC Bill does not provide full executive powers to the Prime Minister. In actual fact, the NSC Bill vests such untrammeled and even unconstitutional powers on the Prime Minister to pave the way for a dictatorship bud-grafted onto the present system of constitutional monarchy.”

Nobody is really convinced by Nur Jazlan’s claim, reiterated Lim. “But giving the Deputy Home Minister all the benefit of the doubt that the NSC Bill was not a dangerous grab for power by the Prime Minister, let Nur Jazlan explain why the National Security Council was not parked under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA).”

“It was being created by another statute with such far-reaching powers including the usurpation of the constitutional powers of the Agong, the Cabinet and the 13 State Governments.”

Furthermore, added Lim, if terrorism was the real target of the NSC Bill, Nur Jazlan should explain why there was not a single reference to the threat of terrorism or terrorist attacks in the “monstrous” NSC Bill passed by the Dewan Rakyat. “The Bill defined ‘national security’ in so wide and catch-all a fashion that it could be interpreted to cover all situations, even those which would not normally be associated with national security issues, but arising from political, economic and nation-building factors and circumstances.”

Under the circumstances, continued Lim, the government should withdraw the NSC Bill from the Senate, which is scheduled to ram through the Bill next Tuesday, to amend it so that it specifically deals with threats from terrorist attacks or armed insurrection, and park the National Security Council under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA).

The amended legislation, after its presentation and passage in the Senate can then be brought back to the Dewan Rakyat for confirmation and adoption, said Lim.