IS 1MDB ALSO MAHATHIR’S LEGACY? HARAPAN MPs BOMBARD ‘INEXPERIENCED’ ZAHID AS HE MAKES DEBUT AS OPPOSITION LEADER WITH LAME SPEECH BLAMING DR M FOR BN’S GE14 DEFEAT

KUALA LUMPUR, 29 Nov -- Naib Presiden UMNO Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi semasa berucap merasmikan persidangan serentak sayap-sayap parti bersempena Perhimpunan Agung UMNO 2016 di Pusat Dagangan Dunia Putra hari ini. --fotoBERNAMA (2016) HAK CIPTA TERPELIHARA

Parliamentary opposition leader Ahmad Zahid Hamid has attributed BN’s defeat in the May 9 general election partly to the legacy left by Dr Mahathir Mohamad following his previous tenure as prime minister.

Debating the royal decree in Dewan Rakyat today, Zahid said Mahathir left a huge debt for his successors Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Abdul Razak when he stepped down in 2002.

“What happened in the May 9 general election was a tragedy and a nightmare, but we should remember that the man who helmed the country was the premier for 22 years out of the 61 years of BN’s rule.

“Meaning, one-third of the 61 years was headed by the leader from the other side,” he said.

“So to now blame the previous government is not fair, because not all of that legacy left was entirely good or bad.

“The prime ministers succeeding him were forced to bear the legacy (left by him), which included the debt-laden projects that burdened the people and the government,” he added.

Despite this, Zahid said there is no anger, and nobody has resorted to hating for the former leader.

At this point, RSN Rayer (Harapan-Jelutong) stood up and asked if the 1MDB scandal was also a legacy left by Mahathir.

Despite his repeated efforts to seek Zahid’s permission for him to speak, he was ignored.

Bung Moktar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan) then stood up and said Rayer had consumed toddy, which left the DAP lawmaker in fumes. – MKINI

Act like govt, not opposition, Zahid tells Pakatan

PAKATAN Harapan should learn to behave like a government instead of acting like the opposition, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today.

The opposition leader said government MPs should study the Standing Orders and know parliamentary rules instead of heckling, which he said they did before as the opposition.

“I think they should learn more, especially on the Standing Orders.  

“Don’t simply interject because they are no longer the opposition, they are in the government. I think they should act like one,” Zahid told reporters in the Parliament lobby after delivering part of his speech in the debate on the royal address.

The former deputy prime minister and Umno president was commenting on several PH lawmakers who interrupted his speech.

One of them, R.S.N Rayer (Jelutong) kept interjecting when Zahid was speaking about 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

The session ended at 5.30pm without Zahid finishing his speech, which he will continue tomorrow.

The afternoon session of today’s sitting saw a largely empty hall with most government MPs absent from proceedings because of a cabinet meeting.

Only a few backbenchers were visible in a photo posted by Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin who highlighted the fact that not a single minister was present to listen to the opposition leader’s speech.

Khairy tweeted that the cabinet’s usual meetings on Wednesdays should be held on Fridays instead, as practiced by the previous Barisan Nasional government during Parliament sittings.

“The government front bench is completely empty. Not a single minister in the house to listen to the opposition leader’s speech.

“I know there is a cabinet meeting today. I suggest to the PM (Dr Mahathir Mohamad) that cabinet meetings be held on Fridays instead so that Parliament’s proceedings are respected,” Khairy said.

Parliament does not sit on Fridays, he noted, and the cabinet can also resume convention of holdings its Wednesday meetings when the house is not in session. – THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT

MKINI / THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT