Editorial: Malaysia - Najib Doubles Down

Najib Razak (Image: Wiki Commons)

By Kirsten Han

The government is close to introducing a controversial new security law.

“Najib the bold,” The Economist declared in 2011 when Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced that his government would repeal the Internal Security Act, a draconian law used to detain dissidents without trial. Across the Causeway, Singaporean activists heralded the move, pointing to Najib as an example for the Singapore government to follow.

No one expected then that a mere four years later Najib would introduce a piece of legislation that would even surpass the Internal Security Act in catapulting Malaysia back to the authoritarianism of the Malayan Emergency era – a period when the colonial British government waged a tough war against the communists.

The National Security Council Bill (NSC Bill) was introduced in the Dewan Rakyat during the final days of parliamentary sittings, and was passed on December 3 in a bloc vote. Its passage has sparked an outcry from Malaysian civil society amid ongoing discussion of the country’s fast-eroding civil liberties.

“The issue just came out of the blue,” Eric Paulsen, Executive Director of Lawyers for Liberty, told The Diplomat. “The first time anyone heard of it properly was when they left the bill for the members of parliament to deliberate… It just came out of the blue, there was no discussion publicly and everyone was caught by surprise.”

The bill allows the prime minister the power to designate any part of Malaysia – perhaps even the entire country – as a “security area.” Once designated a security area, members of the Malaysian security forces, from the police to the military, are allowed wide-ranging powers to detain, search, arrest, exclude and even use force on individuals, vehicles and property. The suspension of civil liberties, usually only allowed when the Agong or king declares a state of emergency under the Federal Constitution, will be able to be enforced without involving the head of state.

“Najib the bold”, it appears, might have turned into Najib the brazen.

Read the full story at The Diplomat