TASEK Gelugor MP Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan has lashed out at Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil for painting a woeful picture of the Opposition during the weekly Prime Minister’s Question Time (PMQT) session in the Dewan Rakyat.
The former Bersatu information chief clarified that as opposed to what Fahmi described as “the best opportunity for the Opposition to go face-to-face with the PM”, the truth is such that only MPs called out by the Dewan Rakyat Speaker can pose questions.
“Others can’t ask anything. And the Speaker only allowed one additional question from the original questioner as well as another additional question from another party member. It’s very rare to have more than one questioner,” Wan Saiful penned on his Facebook page.
“This means that if it’s my turn to ask the original question, only I from the PN side can ask one additional question, and only one other person from the government end can ask one question after my question. Other MPs cannot.”
On this note, Wan Saiful reckoned that it would be great if the PMQT session can be amended to emulate “PMQ Westminster whereby the Opposition leader is given a slot to question the PM”.
“So don’t give the description as if in the PMQT’s slot, the Opposition leader or party leader can also participate in asking questions. The truth is they really can’t. So, don’t spin the wrong perception,” he chided Fahmi.
For context, the Pantai MP has earlier lambasted Opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin and his Perikatan Nasional (PN) colleagues Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang for skipping today’s PMQT which has been a weekly practice since February.
Elaborating further, Wan Saiful also took a swipe at PM Anwar “for often avoid giving complete answers or that he doesn’t know the complete answer”.
“He mainly skims through without complete facts. Sometimes even his mention of a specific act is unclear. His sentences at times are mixed up (cacamarba),” observed Wan Saiful.
As such, the first-term MP who is also former CEO of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) stressed the need to further enhance “the quality of answers from the PM”.
“If the quality of the PM’s answer is low, then the interest of people to listen is definitely low,” rationalised Wan Saiful.
“And if YB Fahmi wants to play the attendance issue, check out the picture that I took just a moment ago below. When YB Anthony Loke (Transport Minister and Seremban MP) spoke, the entire block of chairs next to him was empty. Empty all the time. Shouldn’t he (Fahmi) comment on the presence of government MPs as well?” – April 4, 2023
