KUALA LUMPUR: Here is a recap of the announcements that made headlines in Corporate Malaysia.
TOKYO: A bill to establish a national intelligence committee was passed in Japan 's House of Representatives on Thursday , as part of efforts to bolster the government's information-gathering capabilities, Kyodo News reported.
The legislation comes as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, a national security hawk, aims to centralise the country's intelligence capabilities under one council in the face of increasingly sophisticated overseas threats, including those related to economic security and foreign espionage. Backed by opposition parties, the bill -- submitted by the ruling bloc of the Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner, the Japan Innovation Party -- cleared the powerful lower house a day after a supplementary resolution to protect personal information was adopted.
With the support of the largest opposition party in the lower house, the Centrist Reform Alliance, as well as the Democratic Party for the People and other parties, the legislation is expected to be enacted after passing the House of Councillors, where the governing coalition does not hold a majority. Devised in response to national security concerns, including election interference via social media disinformation, the committee will be chaired by the prime minister and composed of nine other Cabinet members, including the chief Cabinet secretary and foreign minister.
It will consolidate a fragmented intelligence apparatus into a central command. The bill states that the committee's secretariat will"comprehensively coordinate" intelligence collected by the National Police Agency, the Foreign Ministry, the Defence Ministry and other organisations, with the authority to ask them to share information. During parliamentary debate on the bill, opposition parties voiced concerns about the new body's potential privacy threats and ability to remain politically neutral.
The nonbinding supplementary resolution was put forward in response to calls for the law to protect private data. It states that information on politicians or electoral activities will not be collected for the purpose of benefiting or disadvantaging specific political entities. - Bernama-KyodoCambodian side Svay Rieng earns a 1-1 draw with Thailand's Bangkok United in the Asean Club Championship Shopee CupChildcare centre principal jailed 10 months over abuse of four-year-old Singapore pupil
Bill National Intelligence House Of Representatives Information-Gathering
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