Mr. Speaker, Sir, nobody buys your story

The Speaker can come up with more versions of the story but the fact remains, he played the starring role

FMT LETTERS

by P Ramakrishnan

On 22 October 2015, the Speaker of Parliament, Pandikar Amin Mulia, claimed that he did not suspend Kit Siang – the MPs did.

Exactly a week later, on 29 October 2015, he felt the need to explain himself further. He must have guessed that Malaysians did not believe him. So this time around he tried a variation of his explanation. He claimed that Parliament punished Kit Siang – not him.

Nobody believed him in the first instance, and here he was telling his tale for the second time. He did not fare any better the second time around. Nobody bought his story. He was not only confusing he was also unconvincing!

He can come up with any number of versions for this shameful episode, but he will not be absolved from the fact that he played a central role in Kit Siang’s suspension.

It was the Speaker who demanded the apology from Kit Siang. It was the speaker who threatened that a motion would be tabled if Kit Siang failed to apologise. The MPs did not say that. Parliament did not say that.

It was the Speaker who insisted and persisted with this issue. Malaysians remember what actually happened in Parliament. The incident was clearly reported.

Further, it is not quite right to claim that Parliament punished Kit Siang. It was the Barisan Nasional MPs who supported the Speaker’s demand for an apology. The MPs did not act of their own volition. They acted on behalf of the Speaker.

The Speaker caused the motion to be tabled. He accepted the motion so that a decision could be taken.

Any further explanation to extricate himself from his involvement in this unjust suspension will not work. People do not and will not buy his story.

To add to the confusion, the Speaker was reported as having said, “There’s nothing personal in politics, nothing personal. The question is, has he forgiven me?”

This is actually baffling! You generally ask for forgiveness when you have done something wrong.

Is this an admission of guilt?

P Ramakrishnan is an Aliran Executive Member