Najib to get new security powers on Aug 1 amid uproar over 1MDB scandal

Kuala Lumpur

MALAYSIA'S Prime Minister Najib Razak will get sweeping security powers on Monday amid planned protests calling for his resignation over US allegations that millions of dollars from a state fund wound up in his personal bank account.

The new National Security Council (NSC) Act, which comes into force on Aug 1, allows Mr Najib to designate any area as a "security area", where he can deploy forces to search any individual, vehicle or premise without a warrant. It also allows investigators to dispense with formal inquests into killings by the police or armed forces in those areas.

Mr Najib's ruling coalition promoted the law as a means to counter threats to se…