NSC Bill: Be afraid, be very afraid
Umar Mukhtar
I am not writing this to be in support of or against any political party. They have agendas that baffle me sometimes. I write for my fellow Malaysians with whom I share this beautiful country. I write for our children who depend on us to leave for them an abode of justice. And mostly, I write to satisfy my conscience which I believe God had granted me as a human being.
As I read the NSC bill, my mind wanders to the unfortunate people of Gaza. Every horrendous thing done to them by Israel is legal – by Israeli laws. All it takes is for Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, to feel that an action is warranted in pursuant of a law which he deems necessary for the national security of Israel.
That will be translated on the ground as necessity to chase away people from their homes, expropriate their properties and chattels, shoot children and deprive persons of their liberties. Granted that to the people of Gaza, Israel is an occupying force and thus they are the enemy. They can expect these from their enemy. God forbid if you are also expected to accept those crap from your own government.
Unlike in Gaza, they say, Malaysians can change their government if they they don’t like what it does. Really? Let’s keep it that way then. Why do we need our prime minister to be able to declare areas in the federation as security areas and almost deprive its inhabitants of constitutional protections? Lots of things can be done to frustrate a general election. The government in power can perpetuate its terms. What can Malaysians do in that situation?
I am not saying that the present government is going to do that. I believe that apart from their quirks, the government is still compromised of decent people who have families and religions. But what if the prime minister changes through some accidents of life. Like he dies and is constitutionally replaced by a twat who knows that the voters will remove him in the next PRU. The NSC bill is so handy for him to circumvent the general elections.
After all, he will be relying on the law – if the NSC bill is passed. Just a couple of bombs in briefcases placed in public places even without killing anybody is enough to declare an emergency. Remember Sarawak and Stephen Kalong Ningkan? And maybe the same guy who planted those bombs is today worried that the present ruling camp, which he doesn’t belong to, is going to do that. What goes around comes around.
I am just illustrating that a potent weapon in the wrong hands will have catastrophic consequences. So why invent one now? You won’t be the government in perpetuity, that’s for sure. Isn’t there any other solution? Like being a vigilant efficient keeper of the peace? Like nipping trouble in the bud by democratic means instead of relying on a draconian short-cut that is open to abuse? Adequate safeguards will not stifle an honest intention. Show us.
There’s already enough laws to cater for civil disorder. Even the Constitution provides for that apart from numerous other Acts. Are we afraid of what happened in Lahad Datu which involved foreign insubordination to recur? But that was the result of poor intelligence coupled with the minister’s hilarious judgement that they were a harmless delegation of old men. No law can be helpful if you are an idiot or don’t do your job. Lives were lost just because someone didn’t do his job.
The laws are all there for the intelligence people to make use of. Unless, of course, if their time is taken up for a different kind of intelligence work. What is the guarantee that the new laws promulgated will excite people to work harder? If legislation is the answer to our national problems, judging by the statute book, Malaysia should be one of the best-governed countries in the world!
Go tell that to the marines and convince me that a law-abiding citizen like me will never be treated like the poor people of Gaza.
