SERVES MAHATHIR RIGHT FOR CHOOSING WEAK AMANAH MAN AS SPEAKER: MAIDEN DEBATE SESSION TURNS INTO ONE-HOUR SLANGING MATCH WITH ARIFF UNSURE WHAT TO DO, RAMKARPAL KICKED OUT ONLY AFTER LUNCH BREAK

KUALA LUMPUR — DAP’s Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh became the first lawmaker to be ejected from the 14th Parliament, after a fracas over his “gangster” remark against Umno Youth members this morning.

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof, who returned to the lower House in the afternoon session, insisted that Ramkarpal needs to retract his remark.

He ejected Ramkarpal from the House when the latter again refused to withdraw his remark.

“The House order of business needs to continue, please retract your statement,” Ariff said.

Ramkarpal said that he would not, with “all due respect”, retract his remarks.

“Bentara, please do your duty,” Ariff said, calling on the officers in the Dewan Rakyat to escort Ramkarpal out.

CRIKEY! DEBATE KICKS OFF WITH AN HOUR RUCKUS AFTER ‘SAMSENG’ JIBES

The maiden debate session for the 14th Parliament got off to a farcical start with MPs shouting at each other for about an hour.

Often times, the shouts from the MPs drowned out the deputy speaker Mohd Rashid Hasnon, who failed to maintain control of the sitting.

The din only subsided when Rashid at 1pm ordered an adjournment for lunch.

The brouhaha began shortly after Johari Abdul (Harapan-Sungai Petani) tabled a motion of thanks for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s speech yesterday.

When tabling the motion, Johari urged MPs to take heed of the Agong’s decree that MPs should be on their best behaviour while citing some examples from the past sessions.

Ramkarpal Singh (Harapan-Bukit Gelugor) chimed in by citing an incident in 2009 which saw then Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh mobbed by a group of Umno Youth members.

At one point, Ramkarpal described the Umno Youth members as “samseng” (thugs), prompting howls of protest from the opposition bench and similar accusations from BN MPs.

After a protracted slanging match, Rashid laid a ruling – that both Ramkarpal and Bung Mokhtar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan) retract the word “samseng“.

Both refused, and yet, Rashid did not take action against them. This prompted another shouting match.

On numerous occasions, the BN MPs tried to “teach” Rashid how to conduct himself while mostly ignoring orders from the deputy speaker.

Eventually, Rashid was saved by the bell when the clock struck one and called for a recess. – M’kini

Firm Speaker needed for ‘world class’ Parliament, Khairy says after fracas

KUALA LUMPUR – Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Datuk Rashid Hasnon needs to show a firmer hand in the lower House of Parliament, Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin said today.The Dewan Rakyat was in uproar earlier today after Ariff chided DAP’s Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh and demanded he retract a remark, which the latter refused.

Ariff, however, opted to let Ramkarpal off the hook with a warning, drawing dissatisfaction from Opposition lawmakers.

“I hope the Speaker can make a strong decision and follow through,” Khairy later told reporters at Parliament.

“If we want this to be a world class Parliament, the Speaker has to be firm in making decisions,” he added. – – MAlay Mail