Granting the Army Emergency Powers

We’re in the second week of the MCO and as people come across roadblocks then it’s likely that - in addition to the police - they’ve seen the army man them. And unlike the first MCO last year, they’ve now been granted emergency powers to arrest people who violate Covid-19 SOPs - which of course isn’t part of the normal functions of our armed forces. We speak with Datuk Joy Appukuttan, Partner at KH Lim and Co, to understand where the army derives this special power from, from a legal standpoint, as well as its implications on our civil liberties.

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