Posts Tagged ‘Najib Razak’
Evaluating the Response to the National Security Council Bill by Twitter Users in KL and Selangor
1. Background
The National Security Council (NSC) 2015 Bill was tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on December 1st [1]. The purpose of the bill is, “to establish the National Security Council with powers, among others, to control and coordinate, and to issue directives to, the Government Entities on matters concerning national security. The proposed Act also empowers the Prime Minister, upon advice by the Council, to declare certain area in Malaysia as a security area. Special powers are given to the Security Forces in the security area.” [2]
Within a security area, security forces may:
- evacuate persons from the area
- enforce a curfew on all persons within the area
- control the movement/entry/exit of persons and vehicles
- arrest any person suspected of committing an offence (without a warrant)
- stop and search any person, vehicle or premises (without a warrant)
- seize any vehicle if it is suspected to have been used in the commission of an offense
- take temporary possession of land, building or movable property in the interest of national security or as accommodation for security forces; with conditional compensation to aggrieved persons
- demolish unoccupied buildings that may be used by persons who are a threat to national security; with conditional compensation to aggrieved persons
Additionally the Council, its members, the security forces or personnel of Government entities are protected from legal action.
The combination of a lack of accountability and enforcement powers given to the PM were highlighted by the Opposition and civil society members.
Following the passing of the bill on December 4th [3], the #TakNakDiktator campaign on December 8th [4]. The goal of the campaign is to spread awareness of the issue and stop the bill from being made into law.
As of December 20th, 22,552 supporters have signed the online petition and 6,481 users have tweeted the #TakNakDiktator hashtag.
Early Findings from Conversations about Muhyiddin Yassin
1. Background
On July 28th 2015 a new Cabinet line-up was announced by Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak (PM Najib).
Former Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was absent from the new Cabinet. Zaid Hamidi replaced him for the post of Deputy Prime Minister and Mahdzir Khalid replaced him for the post of Minister of Education.
Muhyiddin being dropped from the Cabinet followed speculation that this would happen due to his remarks about 1MDB on Sunday, July 26th. He was reported to have asked for PM Najib to personally explain the 1MDB issue and answer the allegations by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) (reference).