THE opposition has claimed that the commotion in parliament yesterday (Sept 19) during the winding-up session of the 12th Malaysia Plan (RMK-12) was caused by the Prime Minister’s and Dewan Rakyat Speaker’s failure to be fair.
Opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said everyone can witness first-hand how Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had sought to twist the facts during the winding-up session.
“As a credible opposition, Perikatan Nasional (PN) has consistently adhered to Dewan Rakyat rules, and PN representatives have clearly demonstrated our maturity in providing comprehensive views, advice, and recommendations throughout the RMK-12 debate,” Hamzah said in a Facebook post today (Sept 20).
“Congratulations to all PN MPs who did their job brilliantly throughout this special session of Parliament,” the Larut MP said.
Yesterday (Sept 19), PN staged a walk out from the Dewan Rakyat following a protracted argument when Anwar was delivering his winding-up speech on the RMk-12.
Chaos erupted when Anwar took a swipe at Datuk Radzi Jidin for laughing when he was explaining the issue of the discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) granted to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
“Larut (Hamzah) asked what I discussed with the attorney general. When the attorney-general made the decision, I asked him about it, yes. I did not discuss his decision, I asked him for justification, for clarification.
“You can laugh but you are laughing, Putrajaya, because you did that. During (PN) administration you did that,” Anwar said.
An enraged Radzi then stood up and demanded that Anwar retract his statement before the Prime Minister could even elaborate further.
“Retract! Retract! This is a malicious accusation, speaker, he is saying I committed a wrongdoing,” he said.
This led to a shouting match which lasted more than 20 minutes as PN MPs demanded Anwar to withdraw his remark while Pakatan Harapan (PH) MPs defended him.
Dewan Rakyat speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul told Radzi to sit down in order for the Prime Minister to explain his remark.
When Radzi insisted that Anwar retract his remark, he was given the marching orders.
Hamzah said all PN lawmakers would also leave the Dewan Rakyat if the speaker maintained the decision to eject Radzi. – Sept 20, 2023
