Report of The Inter-Governmental Committee, Malaysia/Emergency Powers
33. Emergency Powers
In order to enable a Proclamation of Emergency to be made when a grave emergency threatens the security or economic life of the Federation or any part thereof, whatever the cause and even though no war, external aggression or internal disturbance has actually broken out, Article 150(1) should be amended by the deletion of the words, "whether by war or external aggression or internal disturbance". Furthermore, in order to ensure that the central government will have adequate powers to govern during a national emergency, Article 150 should also be amended to give Parliament unqualified power, while a Proclamation of Emergency is in force, to make laws which appear to Parliament to be required by reason of the emergency with respect to any matter, other than religion, citizenship, language, Muslim law or the custom of the Malays or Native law or custom in North Borneo or Sarawak, notwithstanding anything in the Constitution. Article 79 of the Constitution would not apply to a Bill for any such law, nor should any such law be invalid on the ground of any inconsistency with any provision of the Constitution. Article 150(7) would apply to every such law which would, consequently, cease to have effect six months after the end of the emergency to the extent that it could not have been validly made but for the emergency.