Ruckus in Parliament as Opposition accuse govt of bulldozing Bill on foreign country’s immunity, claim PM given absolute power

Malay Mail

KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 — The Parliament today has approved the Jurisdictional Immunities of Foreign States Bill 2023 despite a ruckus that broke due to differences in views from the Opposition bloc.

A heated argument sparked while the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said made attempts to explain the Bill after the Opposition claimed Clause 30, 32 and 33 give absolute power to the prime minister.

“Kota Baru MP and Larut MP, you were ministers before, how many committees have been chaired by the prime minister [before this], you didn’t have any problems,” she said, referring to Perikatan Nasional’s Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan and Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin.

“About checks and balances, you are right, but I want to give an analogy, Kota Baru you spoke about sovereignty, I’m saying that there are no issues of sovereignty mentioned here, sovereignty is in the National Security Council (NSC), the impunity policy is reciprocity, whereby if they revoke our immunity in a foreign country, we can revoke their immunity here, that’s all we are asking for.

“We are not talking about sovereignty, you read just a little [of the Bill], you need to read from the beginning, that’s the problem, you want to show that the government is not a responsible government. Now I’m trying to explain, if compared to other countries, they don’t have a council, here we have a council,” Azalina told the Parliament in her winding-up speech on the debate of the Bill.

She further stressed that the Bill had nothing to do with sovereignty and it was not an amendment to the NSC Act 2016.

“This [Bill] is about immunity. I just want to end by saying this before I sit down, that, without this law, we fear that what happened with the Sulu claims may repeat because the other countries assume that our country isn’t giving reciprocity to immunity,” she said.

Clause 30 on “withdrawal of immunities of foreign State where there is no reciprocal treatment” states where the prime minister is satisfied that Malaysia would not receive, in any foreign State, any immunity corresponding to those conferred by Malaysia under this Act, they may withdraw all or any of immunity against that foreign State.

Meanwhile, Clause 32 on “power to exempt” states that the prime minister may exempt any foreign State from any of the provisions of this Act subject to any condition or restriction he may consider necessary or expedient to impose.

Azalina added that if looked at the preamble of the Bill, it states that the Act is to provide for the immunity of a foreign State and its property, the head of the State and the head of the Government of a foreign State from the jurisdiction of the court of Malaysia; the circumstances for the waiver of immunity; the restrictions of immunity; the establishment of the Foreign State Immunity Council; the withdrawal of immunity where there is no reciprocal treatment and to provide for other matters connected therewith.

“It means that, this Bill has to do with proceedings in our country,” she said.

Adding to this, she stressed that the NSC cannot be sidelined when it comes to matters relating to sovereignty and security, as it is stated in the NSC Act that it is responsible for all security issues in the country.

Hamzah, when he stood up to ask for the minister’s clarification, said that there are concerns of superpowers “squeezing” the prime minister in the future, hence the caution of placing such huge powers on the prime minister alone.

“For example, a prime minister, not the prime minister now we know Tambun won’t do things that will destroy the country’s sovereignty. We support this [Bill], but we just want to make it better, and those on the other side who are my friends, I just want to explain that, if one day there are situations whereby the prime minister is squeezed by a superpower, and he has such huge powers, all you MPs over that side will be responsible for this, including you Pengerang,” Hamzah said, referring to Azalina.

The Lower House broke into another shouting match when Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s Beluran MP Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee claimed that Deputy Speaker Alice Lau had bulldozed the process of passing the Bill.

He said that he was ignored when he stood up before a voice vote was called.

“It is unfair, I wanted to raise Standing Order 54(1) and 54(2), we want to refer to this Bill, we support the Bill but there are some improvements, Clause 32 and Clause 33. I wanted to ask that this House refer the Bill to a select committee. We discuss it further.

“I stood up way earlier, you bulldozed the process here. I said 54(1) and 54 (2). Parliament secretary please advise the Speaker. Standing Order 54(2), you have to send the motion to the House — motion without notice. You bulldozed, let it be on record that you bulldozed the process,” Kiandee said.

He recalled when he was in the government bloc, that when the Opposition raised Standing Order 54(1) and 54(2), room was given for a Bill to be sent to a select committee.

“You are wrong,” he said to Lau, who replied that Kiandee submit a motion if he was not pleased with the decision.