PM creates committee to advise on national security

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha, yesterday appointed an advisory committee to assist with new laws on national security.

The committee will help formulate national security measures which the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) will consider passing into law.

Among them are draft laws on a new national security act, an anti-terrorism act and an office information protection act.

“Our world today has transformed into a modern digital society that can pose threats to national security. We have to do a lot of things to cope with these threats. Yet, we need to have a strong backup and a good relationship with the public. We need to earn their trust. Laws must not put unnecessary burdens on them,” Gen Prayut said after a meeting of the Office of the National Security Council (NSC).

The NSC yesterday also approved in principle two draft laws on national security, one on the protection of the government information and the other on preventing and combating terrorism.

The first law will determine what is state information that needs to be protected and what is state information that must be revealed to the public, according to NSC secretary-general Wallop Rugsanoh.

“Although the law will treat some state information as classified, the public can still ask the court for this information to be revealed,” he said.

The second draft on terrorism will focus on the reorganisation of state security personnel to work with more flexibility, he said.

“Despite having stringent new security laws in the pipeline, officials must not violate human rights,” said Gen Wallop.

“These laws will also ensure state officials will not have too much power in their hands,” he added.

Both laws, he said, will help boost the country’s international reputation for combating terrorism and protecting national security.

He said next year the NSC will focus on improving its collaborations with other agencies.

They will focus on natural disaster mitigation as well as continuing to focus on cybersecurity.