Pakatan MPs livid over Kong AES sidestep

Pakatan Rakyat MPs are up in arms over what they believe is the refusal of Transport Minister Kong Cho Ha to personally answer questions regarding the Automatic Enforcement System (AES) for traffic offenses in the Dewan Rakyat.

"Mr speaker, he only answers outside (the House). He dares not to come here and face the members of Parliament," lamented Fong Po Kuan (DAP-Batu Gajah).

Fong (left) had invoked Standing Order 66(5) just after Question Time today, pleading with speaker Pandikar Amir Mulia to use his powers to compel Kong to personally deliver his ministry's winding-up speech.

"Can we request that he himself attend to answer questions about his ministry, especially with regard to the AES?"

She said that since Kong's (right) ministry had brought forward their turn for the policy stage of the 2013 budget debate, he should make himself available on the new date.

Standing Order 66(5) governs the period of time that the house must spend to debate the supply bill.

As of now, Kong had not yet appeared in the House to personally answer questions about the AES, which has drawn strong opposition and heated debates from both sides of the political aisle.

'AES cameras to catch running minister'

In response, Pandikar said that as far as 66(5) goes, "no standing orders has been breached" by the minister and even as speaker, he has no power over ministers.

"I don't have the power to force the minister to come and attend".

Pandikar added that it is not fair to assume that a minister did not attend because he or she does not want to answer questions.

"Those are reflections (suppositions) and I cannot do that, I also cannot advise the minister," he said.

However, Pandikar said that all that was brought up has been heard by the minister, via his deputy or officers and it is now up to him to decide if he will attend or leave it to his deputies yet again.

Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena) (right) then stood up arguing that since the winding-up speech for the Transport Ministry was brought forward, it should have been at a time convenient for the minister to attend.

"He better not run away. Otherwise we are going to install AES cameras to catch him”.