KUCHING: The Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) is gravely concerned over the impact of the proposed National Security Council law on Sarawak (and Sabah, being in the same position as Sarawak within the Federation of Malaysia) as there is no representation from Sarawak (and Sabah) in the council.
SUPP secretary-general Dato’ Sebastian Ting noted that the National Security Council Bill was tabled in Parliament for the first reading recently.
The proposed new law seeks to create a council which will have the power, amongst others, to declare certain area a ‘security area’ and the council will have wide ranging powers in particular concerning security.
The members of the proposed council are the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Defence Minister, Inspector-General of Police and the Chief Secretary to the Federal Government.
Ting said SUPP had always been supportive of a stable and a strong government. The safety of the people and property should be the upmost concern for any political party and the nation.
At the same time, they were also mindful that the wide powers granted by the proposed law should not be misapplied or abused.
Ting said SUPP was concerned over the impact of the proposed law on Sarawak (and Sabah, being in the same position as Sarawak within the Federation of Malaysia) since there was no representation from Sarawak (and Sabah) in the council.
He said it was very important for Sarawak and Sabah to be represented in the proposed council for nation building.
Malaysia was formed as a federation of three separate entities –Federation of Malaya, Sarawak and Sabah (after the separation of Singapore in 1965).
“This new law should reflect this fact by including the views and voices from the other two partners of this nation. SUPP proposes that the council be expanded to include the chief ministers of Sarawak and Sabah as members of the council.
“Furthermore, before any part of Sarawak (or Sabah) is to be declared a security area, the consent of the respective chief ministers must be mandatory.
“We further propose that Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Communications and Multimedia be included in the council because these ministries are relevant.
“SUPP asks for the Bill to be amended to reflect the above requests,” Ting said in the press statement.-Borneo Post
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