KUALA LUMPUR: The Jurisdictional Immunities of Foreign States Bill 2023 should not be equated with the National Security Council Act 2006 as it does not address sovereignty concerns.
Minister in Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, in defending the tabling of the bill in the Dewan Rakyat today, said it instead calls for the establishment of a council to make decisions on matters related to foreign state immunity.
"There is no mention of sovereignty in the bill as sovereignty falls under the purview of the National Security Council (NSC) which oversees all matters related to sovereignty and security.
"This bill is solely about providing immunity for foreign states in Malaysian courts, aiming for reciprocal treatment in foreign courts.
"We are talking about the reciprocity in immunities here. This means that if a foreign country revokes our immunities in their country, we will do the same," she said in the winding-up speech for the bill.
Earlier, the bill which aims to provide the immunity of a foreign state and its property, the circumstances for the waiver of immunity and the withdrawal of immunity where there is no reciprocal treatment and to provide for other matters related, received the nod from the Dewan Rakyat.
Additionally, the bill also allows the prime minister the power to revoke any or all of the immunity accorded to a foreign state under the proposed legislation if he is persuaded that Malaysia has not received reciprocal immunity.
However, several opposition lawmakers have continued to voice their dissatisfaction with the bill, particularly Clauses 30, 32, and 33 which were seen as granting excessive power to the prime minister.
Following this, Azalina clarified that the decision to revoke the immunity will not solely rest with the prime minister, but will be based on the decisions made by a 12-member council.
"The exemption of immunities was a reactive measure if Malaysia did not receive similar treatment from the foreign state.
"Therefore, the prime minister, as the chair of the 12-member council, has the mandate, as per the law, to collectively consider this matter.
"The bill was also presented and approved by the Council of Rulers last year as stipulated in the Federal Constitution."