The National Security Council bill was passed yesterday by a majority vote after hours of heated debate, with opposition lawmakers voicing fears the prime minister now has power to declare a state of emergency without having to seek consent from Malaysia's King.
The bill gives the National Security Council the authority to impose strict policing in an area deemed to face a security risk.
Once a security area is declared, security forces would be allowed, among other things, to impose curfews and would have wide powers of arrest, search and seizure without a warrant.
Najib, who is under investigation in a USD 700 million financial scandal, has said the bill is aimed at countering terrorism threats from within and outside the country, and would strengthen the National Security Council so that it was on par with similar agencies in the US and Britain.
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Cabinet minister Shahidan Kassim said during the debate that the bill deals only with security threats in specific areas, while provisions for declaring an emergency under the constitution deal with large-scale crises.
"Now we know what the path to Malaysian dictatorship looks like," Human Rights Watch said. "The law is far broader than can be justified by any real threat to Malaysia's national security, and creates a real risk of abuse."
In April, the government revived detention without trial with a new anti-terror law to fight Islamic militants. The law allows authorities to detain suspects indefinitely without trial, with no court challenges permitted. Rights groups have raised concerns the law could be used to intimidate and silence vocal critics.