Pandikar requests for 'solid one' after wooden gavel breaks

PARLIAMENT | The current Dewan Rakyat sitting is turning out to be a taxing affair for Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia.

He had encountered scathing criticism for rejecting questions related to the 1MDB scandal, with one opposition lawmaker even taking the matter to court.

To make things worse, Pandikar's wooden gavel broke.

Contrary to expectations, this did not happen because the speaker had pounded his table with the gavel in order to establish order, given that the Lower House has a reputation for heated exchanges.

In fact, MPs themselves were taken by surprise when Pandikar announced the fate which had befallen his trusted gavel.

In a video recording of the proceedings, a voice is heard telling Ngeh Koo Ham (DAP-Beruas) to sit as the latter was addressing the House.

Following this, the speaker is seen holding up his gavel and asking the sergeant-at-arms (bentera) to bring a replacement.

“Bentara, please take note, change my gavel, it's broken. I want a more solid one,” he said, drawing laughter from the MPs.

“I'm serious, it broke. I want a solid one that cannot break,” he added to more laughter.

As Pandikar vacated the chair to be replaced by deputy speaker Ismail Mohamed Said, BN MP Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim quipped that the speaker should be given a metal gavel.

“Change it to a metal one, speaker. This is the opposition’s fault,” he said.

Ismail Mohamed then joked that a broken gavel would not prevent him from taking action against MPs who breached the rules. - Mkini