The three DAP lawmakers who were threatened with stern action for contempt of Parliament have no plans to issue apologies just yet.
Instead, Batu Gajah MP V Sivakumar, Beruas MP Ngeh Khoo Ham, and Taiping MP Nga Kor Ming, want Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia to answer two questions on 1MDB before they apologise.
"We are waiting for the speaker to answer our questions first," Nga said when asked if they would apologise.
Speaking at a press conference in the Parliament media room, he said the two questions are on why the 1MDB audit report has not been tabled in Parliament if there is no wrongdoing in the matter, and why the government has remained silent on actions taken by foreign governments on the 1MDB scandal.
"If Parliament can't answer maybe the speaker can answer... Perhaps the speaker feels he is the best person to answer this," Nga added.
Yesterday, the MPs were issued a letter from Pandikar (photo) urging them to make an apology or face action.
This was in response a joint statement by the trio last week, which said that the speaker should not be an “accomplice to cover up corruption scandals.”
The statement also claimed that if "Pandikar had failed to uphold the truth, then the most honourable thing for him to do is to resign."
Today, Nga said that the trio sympathised with the speaker, saying that he may have been pressured into dismissing the 1MDB-related questions by the ruling BN government.
"I'm sure the speaker wants to uphold the reputation of Parliament, and we will stand by his side if it is to uphold the truth," he added.
In contempt?
Meanwhile, Ngeh claimed that the rejection of the questions could mean that Pandikar is in contempt of Parliament, similar to how a judge can be in contempt of court for not siding with justice.
He said that he plans to file a motion to debate whether this is the case.
Pandikar defended his actions last week, claiming that the Parliamentary Standing Orders give him the right to reject any motion without the need to justify.
The speaker also said that the orders give him the liberty to reject questions that contain any “opinion, argument, ironical or offensive expression,” and added that it was his right to interpret them as such.
Despite the 1MDB scandal having sparked investigations and court action in a number of countries, attempts by opposition MPs to discuss the issue in Parliament have thus far failed.
An attempt to challenge Pandikar's decision not to allow 1MDB-related questions to be raised in Parliament last month also met with failure, as the High Court allowed the application from the speaker to strike out the suit. -Mkini
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