Chin Peng set to “haunt” Parliament meeting

The Parliament will convene tomorrow for the second time since the general election, and with the spectre of former communist leader Chin Peng hanging over it, many Members of Parliament are bound to raise Putrajaya’s refusal to allow his ashes to be brought back and interred.

The presence of several opposition lawmakers at Chin Peng’s wake will provide fodder for the Barisan Nasional backbenchers who are bound to raise a heckle and try to link DAP to the communist party.

Party members who attended the Bangkok wake of the former Communist Party of Malaya secretary-general said they were there on their own accord.

Klang MP Charles Santiago said he was in Bangkok for a meeting with non-governmental organisations and took the opportunity to drop by at the Wat That Thong temple where Chin Peng's remains lay.

The Star reported yesterday that the second-term DAP MP was seen kneeling and holding a joss stick at a floral dais inside the air-conditioned hall where the sealed casket bearing Chin Peng’s remains was placed.

Together with Santiago were Selangor DAP committee member and former senator S. Ramakrishnan and Aliran exco member Sarajun Hoda. Also seen at the wake, but at a different time, were Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi and PKR Batu MP Tian Chua.

This may not provide the Minister in charge of parliamentary affairs  Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, the peaceful meeting he craves for, after being exhausted with the last meeting.

“I hope the House will continue to be peaceful,” he told reporters wearily at a function this week.

Shahidan will also find himself under the spotlight in the wake of reports that his daughter was working for him in a “gazetted government post”, a position the administration said should not be held by family members.

Chin Peng's death is not the only issue which has riled up  Malaysians.

Equally controversial are the Sri Pristina school issue, Putrajaya’s compensation to the two Automatic Enforcement System (AES) concessionaires, the softening of the economy, the Bumiputera Economic agenda and the ongoing Bersih People’s Tribunal on electoral fraud.

The spike in violent crime, which includes the murder of Arab Malaysia Bank founder Hussain Ahmad Najadi in July, has culminated in calls for the return of draconian laws to reign in criminals.

Both sides of the political divide are bound to set the Parliament alive with these issues.

“While we cannot simply discuss any issues this time because the topic is strictly confined to the debate of Bills, expect MPs to find ways to weave it in, either during Question Time or during the course of the debate,” said DAP’s Kulai MP Liew Chin Tong.

Due to the short meeting, only one Bill will be up for debate, namely the Supplementary Supply Bill, which seeks to gain Parliament’s approval for additional money for the government.

Two other Acts related to the legal profession – Legal Profession Act 1976 and Legal Profession (Amendment) Act 2012) – are also up for amendments.

However, there has been no sign of the much-talked about bill to bring in new preventive detention laws, which Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had promised.

Another highlight will be the formation of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), whose main job is to examine the country’s accounts and appropriation of sums granted by Parliament to meet public expenditure and other matters it deems fit.

Headed by three-term Pulai MP Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed, the 14-member committee is expected to name its members, nine from BN and five from the Opposition bench.

The list of nominees has been submitted for approval by the parliamentary select committee, which looks into general housekeeping including ensuring that rules and regulations are followed.

As its first order of business, the PAC is expected to scrutinise sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional for its role in the aborted Malaysian Airlines-AirAsia share swap deal, which resulted in both carriers being fined RM10 million each by the Malaysian Competition Commission (MyCC) early this month.

Bentong MP Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said he and his party colleagues are looking forward to the meeting, where they will be bringing-up issues related to crime and security, as well as the economy.

“All these are the main concerns of the people and it is our job to raise them,” said Liow.