Media Statement
Aliran is shocked that the government of the day has suddenly tabled and passed the National Security Council Bill 2015 in Parliament.
The haste with which this unclear bill was passed, without prior consultation with civil society and even parliamentarians, shows a total lack of respect for our constitutional democracy and due process.
At the heart of the bill is the concentration of power in an unaccountable council, headed by the prime minister as chairman, and comprising those who had been appointed by him and reporting directly to him i.e. the deputy prime minister as deputy chairman, the minister of defence, the minister of home affairs, the minister of communications and multimedia, the chief secretary to the government, the chief of defence forces and the inspector-general of police.
Disturbingly, the notion of national security and the scope of authority are not defined and therefore are open to abuse by the NSC. Read more