PARLIAMENT | Three lawmakers were given the marching orders following an argument that erupted after Awang Hashim (Perikatan Nasional-Pendang) accused a minister of being a liar.
Apart from Awang, Shahidan Kassim (PN-Arau) and RSN Rayer (Pakatan Harapan-Jelutong) were also instructed to vacate the House.
While Awang was told to leave the Dewan for one hour, there was no specific duration for the other two.
In his debate earlier, Awang claimed Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad had lied about Malay reserve land being on the decline in Kedah, citing numbers from the state land office.
“Minister, if you do not have the information, do not speak. Don’t lie in this house,” he said.
Lim Guan Eng (Harapan-Bagan) then urged him to retract his accusation but Awang refused and insisted he was right because the minister provided false information.
The PN MP continued to resist even after Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Alice Lau instructed him to withdraw the remark.
Awang argued that he was right in his terminology as anyone providing false information was lying.
Lau said if the information given was inaccurate, Awang should have said it was not true instead of calling it a lie.
“If (the information) is not correct, then just say it is not correct. There’s no need to say it is a lie.
“Are you going to retract that statement? If not, please leave the Dewan,” she added.
This prompted an argument over the definition of a lie with Radzi Jidin (PN-Putrajaya) quoting the definition of the word “bohong” (lie) from the Kamus Dewan.
Improper motives
Lau referred to Standing Order 36(6) which stated that no member shall “impute improper motives to any other member”.
She said saying that Nik Nazmi had lied was imputing him with improper motives as Awang has no way to prove the minister made the remarks about Kedah’s Malay reserve land with malicious intentions.
In response, Awang insisted Nik Nazmi meant to paint PN in a bad light by “lying” about the matter.
As the argument raged and Awang steadfastly refused to withdraw his statement, an irritated Lau ejected him for one hour.
After Awang was kicked out, Shahidan interrupted Lim’s debate time and said Standing Order 36(6) should not apply to his PN colleague as the latter was only providing facts about Kedah’s Malay reserve land.
Lau, who wanted to continue the debate due to time constraints, added that she does not want to discuss the matter further.
“Or would you like to leave the Dewan as well?,” she asked.
Shouting match
Shahidan then purportedly said the word ‘thief’ (penyamun) while his microphone was turned off, which caused Rayer to jump to his feet to urge the former to retract that word.
“Rude (biadap)! I ask Arau to retract the word ‘thief’ which was targeted at Lim,” he shouted.
Shahidan defended himself, saying he did not say the word into the microphone and as such, it was not recorded in the Hansard. He also said he did not target the word at Lim.
“I heard that too. Even if you did not turn on the microphone and it is not in the Hansard, you cannot call someone a thief in the house,” Lau said, before asking him to withdraw his statement.
After a protracted shouting match between Rayer and Shahidan, the deputy speaker told Shahidan to leave the house if he refused to retract the word.
“Why isn’t he (Rayer) being asked to leave as well? He called me all sorts of things like (being) rude,” Shahidan asked.
“Both of you leave then for a while. Jelutong and Arau, please. Don’t waste any more time,” Lau said.
She was then relieved of her duties by fellow Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Ramli Mohd Nor, who chastised the parliamentarians for their behaviour.
As Lim attempted to continue with his debate, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man (PN-Kubang Kerian) pointed out that Rayer was still in the Dewan.
Ramli, who had just entered the house, said he was unsure about what had happened and as such, would not interfere with Lau’s decisions.
Rayer then defended himself, saying he was merely asking Shahidan to retract his statement.
“I already said I am unsure of what has been decided. If there are any doubts or dissatisfaction, submit a motion. I just want to continue with the proceedings as we have a lot of bills to get through,” Ramli said.
It is unclear if Rayer eventually left the house or not. - Mkini
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