KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 17): A group of 10 prominent lawyers said today the government has set a dangerous precedent for the use of proclamations when it sought the proclamation of emergency last week.
This, the group argued in a statement today, is because the requisite conditions were not met under the constitution, which provides for the emergency proclamation only in situations where a grave emergency exists, namely where the security, economic life or public order in the country is threatened. It must never be sought lightly because it is anti-democratic and effectively suspends the rule of law. Such a proclamation throws the country into a legal abyss where all power resides in the executive, the lawyers said, adding seeking such a proclamation must therefore be avoided by any responsible government except for the most extreme of circumstances .