P. Ramakrishnan
Aliran
1st Nov 2015
On 22 October 2015, the Speaker of Parliament, Pandikar Amin Mulia, claimed that he did not suspend Kit Siang – MPs did. Thinking Malaysians did not believe him. He must have been aware of it. As a result, he returned to the same topic to explain himself further and differently. Nobody believed him in the first instance and therefore there was a need to explain this unconvincing tale twice.
Exactly a week later, on 29 October 2015, he claimed that Parliament punished Kit Siang – not him. This time around he fared no better. Nobody bought his story. He was not only confusing he was also unconvincing!
He can come up with any number of versions to this shameful episode but he will not be absolved from the fact that he played a central role to Kit Siang’s suspension.
It was the Speaker who demanded the apology from Kit Siang. It was the Speaker who threatened that a motion would be tabled if Kit Siang failed to apologise. MPs did not say that. The Parliament did not say that. It was the Speaker who insisted and persisted in this issue. Malaysians remember what actually happened in Parliament. This was clearly reported for all to read.
It is not quite right to claim that Parliament punished Kit Siang. It was the Barisan Nasional MPs who did it in supporting the Speaker’s demand for an apology. The MPs did not act on their own volition. They acted on behalf of the Speaker.
The Speaker caused the motion to be tabled. He accepted the motion so that a decision could be taken. Any further explanation to extricate himself from his involvement in this unjust suspension will not work. People will not buy his story. Probably they will say, “Tell it to the marines!”
To add further to the confusion, the Speaker was reported as having said, “There’s nothing personal in politics, nothing personal. The question is, has he forgiven me?”
This is actually baffling! You ask for forgiveness when you have done something wrong to a person. What has the Speaker done to expect Kit Siang to forgive him? Was this an admission of a perceived wrong done to Kit Siang that prompted him to ask this question?
Malaysians may be wondering if the Speaker was just babbling!