Kit Siang calls for Shahbudin's suspension over bloc vote blunder

 

Veteran DAP lawmaker Lim Kit Siang has called for Parliament to suspend BN Tasek Gelugor MP Shahbudin Yahya for violating Dewan Rakyat standing orders.

This is over a mistake by Shahbudin during a committee stage Budget 2021 yesterday. He was entrusted with counting the votes for Bloc C but was found to have mistakenly marked Nazri Abdul Aziz (BN-Padang Rengas) as being in support when the latter was absent.

The number of parliamentarians who passed the Finance Ministry's allocations in a bloc vote yesterday in the Dewan Rakyat has been corrected from 107 to 106.

"He is the latest example of a regime of 'kakistocracy', where the worst elements have taken over the leadership of the country," said Lim, who is also the Iskandar Puteri MP.

"Either he does not understand the simple language in the parliamentary standing orders, or he is reckless and negligent of the duties entrusted on him as a teller when a division is called in Parliament, neither of which qualifies him as a parliamentarian."

"Any intelligent and literate school children would understand what is expected of a teller, but clearly, Shahbudin did not understand his duties and responsibilities," he said.

Lim said Shahbudin should be immediately stripped of his position as a teller and be referred to the Privileges Committee of the Dewan Rakyat as an avenue to his suspension as an MP.

On another development, the Iskandar Puteri MP saw an issue with Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Khairuddin Aman Razali for choosing not to wind up the ministerial budget debate during committee stage in today's Dewan Rakyat sitting.

Deputy minister Willie Mongin wound up the debate on behalf of the minister.

The RM729.39 million budget for the Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry was passed via a bloc voting during the committee stage. A total of 108 MPs voted for the ministerial budget while 95 voted against it.

Lim, in a separate statement, said this is the most irresponsible behaviour of a minister in the six decades of the Malaysian Parliament.

"It is the height of parliamentary irresponsibility for the minister to be in Parliament yet did not reply in the debate on his Ministry's allocation in the 2021 Budget but only came into the Chamber to vote when a division (bloc vote) was called on his ministry's allocations," he said.

Lim said the minister dare not face the lawmakers to answer criticism about his ministry.

"This is another example of the 'kakistocracy' we have in government in Malaysia," added Lim. - Mkini