Category: Parliament

Never before in the nation’s history has there been such a massive police mobilisation, paralysing the Federal Capital and the Klang Valley as today creating a massive traffic chaos, when there is totally no cause. It is a preview of what a Police State could be like.

In the past two days, the police had created infernal traffic congestions with roadblocks in Kuala Lumpur and the surrounding areas locking up the Klang Valley, purportedly to forestall a Pakatan Rakyat public gathering or demonstration in or near Parliament because of the Standing Order 18 no-confidence motion today which is to be presented by the Parliamentary Opposition Leader, Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Ismail after question time at 11.30 am.

The Speaker, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia not only rejected Azizah’s no-confidence motion, he also rejected my motion under Standing Order 26(1)(p) to refer the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan to the Parliamentary Privileges Committee for failing to comply with the parliamentary motion dated 28th April 2008 directing the IGP to ensure that MPs are not obstructed in their passage to and from parliamentary meetings.

Many MPs from both sides of the House met with police obstruction today and did not have free passage to Parliament, which is against the specific parliamentary directive to the IGP contained in the parliamentary motion of April 28, 2008.

No good or convincing reasons were given for the rejection of both motions by the Speaker. In the protracted arguments in the Dewan Rakyat over my proposed privilege motion, I had occasion to remark that a Speaker should not speak too much – and that the best Speaker is one who does not speak. Continue reading “Police Paralysis of KL and Klang Valley – preview of a Police State”

Ridiculous! Outrageous!

This is my immediate reaction to news report of a directive by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz banning members of the public from Parliament on Monday purportedly to thwart a demonstration to be organised by the Opposition over the Standing Order 18 motion by Parliamentary Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Wan Azizah on no confidence in the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

How can the public be banned from Parliament when the public gallery is an integral part of parliamentary process to ensure that it remains open, accountable, transparent and democratic?

If Parliament is to conduct its proceedings in “closed session”, there must be strong security justification – and not just on the pretext of a rumour of an Opposition demonstration in Parliament building on Monday.

For the record, this is the first time that I have heard of such a rumour!

Even if Parliament is to take extraordinary security measures in the parliamentary precints, it must be decided by Parliament itself and not by the Executive – unless Parliament is nothing more than a mini government department. Continue reading “Public banned from Parliament on Monday – ridiculous & outrageous!”

Where are the evidence that the Barisan Nasional government has learnt the lessons of the March 8 political tsunami and has begun to be more an unifier than divider of Malaysians, more Malaysian-centric and less communalistic, more democratic, fair and just to be a government of all Malaysians than just half the population in the country?

In other words, a government that inspires unity rather than foments disunity among Malaysians of diverse races, languages, cultures and religions.

The Ninth Malaysia Plan Mid-Term Review is a good illustration. The 120-page 9MP MTR is the slimmest of all Five-Year Plan mid-term review documents, with some previous Mid-Term Reviews like that of the Eighth Malaysia Plan review running into four times the length of the 9MP MTR of over 500 pages. Is it because there is very little to say and inspire Malaysians in the 9MP MTR?

When the Ninth Malaysia Plan was launched in Parliament in March 2006, it was hailed as a historic document finally delivering the Prime Minister’s reform pledge and programme which at the time had been stalled for 30 months – or to quote the words of an MP in the present Parliament, “a blueprint not merely for the next five years, but for the next few decades”, and that the Prime Minister “has set in motion reforms that will reverberate for generations to come”.

In the event, the Ninth Malaysia Plan had not “reverberated” for a single day! This person had even written in the article “From short-term lucre to long-term wealth” that the Ninth Malaysia Plan would not see “the return of the gravy train” but I do not think there would be much disagreement if he is described as the “driver” of the RM220 billion (now increased to RM250 billion under the MTR) “gravy train” as to become the world’s richest unemployed – creating a new class of the bumiputra wealthy at the expense of both the bumiputra and non-bumiputra poor. Continue reading “Indian and the snake…”

The heading of one blog today, “BN’s Credibility to Rule Disappearing by the day!”, reflects the feelings of increasing number of Malaysians that although the Barisan Nasional had survived the political tsunami in the March general election, it has not learnt any lesson at all.
The post-general election claim by the Prime Minister that he has finally heard the voice of the people is not true at all.

This is best reflected by the first 100 days after the March 8 general election, where at the state level, the five state governments under the Pakatan Rakyat becomes more stronger and more consolidated while in contrast, at the national level, the second Abdullah premiership seems to be tottering from Day One, under siege in Umno and Barisan Nasional internally as well as externally.

Although the March 8 general election suffered a historic defeat in losing its hitherto unbroken two-thirds parliamentary majority, it still enjoys a strong 58-seat majority with its 140 MPs against 82 from Pakatan Rakyat.

In other democracies, a ruling coalition with a 58-seat majority in Parliament would be as safe and fit as a fiddle. Why is this not the case in Malaysia? Continue reading “Malaysia – an abnormal country”

This is the 30-minute video clip of the parliamentary proceeding today resulting in the first major walkout by almost one-third of the MPs in Parliament – the 80 MPs from PKR, PAS and DAP of Pakatan Rakyat.

A second substantive motion to review the Speaker’s decision to allow the unprecedented abuse of parliamentary standing orders by the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, will be submitted to Parliament to allow for a full debate next week of parliamentary practices, procedures and rules – provided time is allocated for such a substantive motion which requires only two days’ notice.

For video click –> Continue reading “80 Pakatan Rakyat MPs’ walkout in Parliament today (video)”

This is the video clip of the parliamentary proceeding on the two-day suspension of DAP MP for Puchong, Gobind Singh Deo. Gobind was suspended in an altercation with the Speaker, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin during question time today.

I had said subsequently in Parliament that Gobind’s suspension is unfair and wrong and that I would be moving a substantive motion to review the Speaker’s decision.

As only two days’ notice is required for such a substantive motion, I hope there could be a debate and vote on it in Parliament on Monday.

Part 1

Part 2

Some 80 Pakatan Rakyat Members of PKR, PAS and DAP staged a “walk out” of the Dewan Rakyat this morning in protest against the reckless disregard of parliamentary practices, procedures and rules when despite strong opposition protests, Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak was allowed to misuse Standing Order 14 (1)(i) to make a “ministerial statement” on his support of the Report of the Mid-Term Review of the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

The “ministerial statement” by Najib should be made by the Deputy Prime Minister when he seconded the motion of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on the Ninth Malaysia Plan Mid-Term Review in the Dewan Rakyat last Thursday.

For reasons best known to Najib, the Deputy Prime Minister did not say anything when he stood up to second the Prime Minister’s speech.

Having missed the opportunity to present his views on the Ninth Malaysia Plan Mid-Term Review when seconding the Prime Minister’s motion, Najib is trying to have a second bite of the cherry by giving a Ministerial statement on the Mid-Term Review, through a gross abuse of the parliamentary standing orders.

It sets a most dangerous precedent that the government front-benchers can abuse the standing orders at their whim and fancy. Continue reading “Walkout by some 80 PR MPs”

(The following is the reply given in Parliament by the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar yesterday to my question on the long-standing PR problem. Lets have your reaction as to whether you find the answer satisfactory or not. It was given as a written answer as the question did not come up for oral reply during the 90-minute Question Time. It was placed No. 49 out of 95 questions yesterday, which saw only eight questions answered on the floor during the Question Time.)

Tuan Lim Kit Siang minta Menteri Hal Ehwal Dalam Negeri menyatakan hasil langkah-langkah untuk mempercepatkan pemprosesan pengeluaran (i) TarafPenduduk Tetap (PR) dan (ii) kerakyatan kepada pasangan asing rakyat Malaysia; mengapakah ujudnya aduan mengenai kelewatan yang keterlaluan dan sila berikan bilangan PR dan kerakyatan yang dikeluarkan dalam tempoh 20 tahun ini.

Jawapan: Pemberian taraf Pemastautin Tetap Malaysia merupakan ‘satu anugerah dan bukan hak’ yang boleh dituntut oleh warganegara asing. Dalam mempertimbangkan permohonan untuk taraf Pemastautin Tetap (PT), Kerajaan memberi keutamaan kepada aspek keselamatan negara dalam membuat keputusan. Berdasarkan kepada faktor ini, kerajaan sangat berhati-hati untuk membuat pertimbangan dan keputusan. Oleh yang demikian, setiap permohonan di WAJIBKAN melalui proses tapisan keselamatan oleh pihak Polis Di Raja Malaysia (PDRM). Di samping siasatan yang dijalankan oleh PDRM, pemohon dan penaja juga akan ditemu duga bagi memastikan bahawa maklumat yang diberikan adalah benar, dan juga untuk mengelakkan sebarang penyelewengan yang mungkin terjadi. Ini juga adalah bagi memastikan bahawa pemohon adalah tulen.

Kesemua langkah-langkah ini adalah amat penting bagi memastikan pemohon adalah seorang yang bebas dari gejala-gejala yang tidak sihat yang mungkin akan mengancam keselamatan negara. Hasrat kerajaan adalah bagi memastikan supaya hanya warganegara asing yang benar-benar ingin bermastautin di negara ini diberikan taraf Pendudukan Tetap. Di samping itu, semua syarat-syarat dan prosedur yang ditetapkan bertujuan untuk meminimumkan kebarangkalian berlakunya penyalahgunaan kemudahan yang disediakan seperti “marriage of convenience”. Continue reading “PR status & citizenship for foreign spouses”