AP issue rattles the House... again
Beh Lih YiPublished: Oct 3, 2005 10:08 AM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 10:21 AM
The Approved Permit (AP) spectre continued to haunt the Dewan Rakyat today with the House being abruptly adjourned for 15 minutes after a war of words erupted.
The Approved Permit (AP) spectre continued to haunt the Dewan Rakyat today with the House being abruptly adjourned for 15 minutes after a war of words erupted.
It was also one of those rare occasions where Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timor) received the support of ruling parliamentarians.
His decision to move a motion to refer International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz and the ministry's secretary-general Sidek Hassan to the Privileges Committee was given the thumbs-up by a Barisan Nasional backbencher.
The catalyst was an explanation letter issued by Sidek to MPs this morning, which immediately drew Lim's ire.
"How could the secretary-general write to Parliament? What is his authority?" he thundered when debating the Budget 2006.
"He has usurped the minister's authority. The letter should be written by the minister," he said, adding that he believed Rafidah had twisted Sidek's arm to pen the letter.
He said the letter, which was distributed to MPs, could be deemed as 'contempt of Parliament' as it flouted procedure.
No intentions to release list
In the four-page letter dated Sept 30, Sidek reiterated that the cabinet on March 26, 1997 decided that each MP is entitled to one AP for personal use to import foreign luxury cars.
The letter was in response to the ministry's unveiling of a list two weeks ago that named the MPs who received the permits. This list had ruffled the feathers of many parliamentarians.
Sidek explained that the ministry had no intention to release the list as the original parliamentary reply approved by him and the deputy ministers did not contain the list.
He claimed that the ministry's trade services unit assistant director Salimi Sajari had attached the list 'without the knowledge of anyone' when the reply was sent to Parliament.
According to the top civil servant, Salimi had failed to answer the matter properly when he was later grilled on the matter.
Sidek, who have expressed regret in his letter to the Parliament, also said that Rafidah was in the dark over the parliamentary response as she was abroad on official duties at that time.
However, Lim demanded to know who had indeed misled the House.
He noted that former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad had openly denied that his cabinet had made any decisions pertaining to MPs being entitled to the permits.
This, he stressed, contradicted Sidek's claim.
He also wondered how Sidek could state that the ministry had no intentions of releasing the name list, when the opposition leader had previously called upon it to release the full list.
Calling for an investigation, Lim then moved a motion to refer Rafidah and Sidek to the Privileges Committee.
He even suggested that Sidek be demoted.
Surprisingly, his motion was seconded by a government backbencher, Mohamed Aziz (BN-Sri Gading), whose action may land him into trouble with the ruling coalition.
War of words
However, deputy speaker Lim Si Cheng immediately rejected the motion on the ground that the issue did not involve a parliamentarian's privileges.
Both Lim and Mohamed protested, arguing the deputy speaker does not have the power to reject the motion, and members of the House should be allowed to vote on the matter.
Later, deputy speaker Dr Yusof Yacob, who took over the chair from Si Cheng, also rejected the motion. He said the issue could be addressed tomorrow as Rafidah will be present in the House.
At this point, Bung Moktar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan) argued that the one-hour question-and-answer session was not sufficient to get to the bottom of the AP controversy.
"We want her to answer - the whole day," he exclaimed.
However, concurring with the deputy speakers was backbencher Mat Yasir Ikhsan (BN-Sabak Bernam), who felt the motion was unnecessary.
At this juncture, Chong Chieng Jen (DAP-Bandar Kuching) invoked the standing order and called for members to vote on the issue.
As the verbal salvos appeared to be getting out of hand, Yusof adjourned the sitting for 15 minutes.
When it resumed, he ruled that there was no need to vote on the motion and that his decision was final as empowered under standing order 99.
Met by reporters later, Lim said the explanation letter was issued to pave the way for Rafidah's appearance tomorrow to argue that the matter had been explained and dealt with.
It was also one of those rare occasions where Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timor) received the support of ruling parliamentarians. His decision to move a motion to refer International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz and the ministry's secretary-general Sidek Hassan to the Privileges Committee was given the thumbs-up by a Barisan Nasional backbencher.
The catalyst was an explanation letter issued by Sidek to MPs this morning, which immediately drew Lim's ire.
"How could the secretary-general write to Parliament? What is his authority?" he thundered when debating the Budget 2006.
"He has usurped the minister's authority. The letter should be written by the minister," he said, adding that he believed Rafidah had twisted Sidek's arm to pen the letter.
He said the letter, which was distributed to MPs, could be deemed as 'contempt of Parliament' as it flouted procedure.
No intentions to release list
In the four-page letter dated Sept 30, Sidek reiterated that the cabinet on March 26, 1997 decided that each MP is entitled to one AP for personal use to import foreign luxury cars.
The letter was in response to the ministry's unveiling of a list two weeks ago that named the MPs who received the permits. This list had ruffled the feathers of many parliamentarians.
Sidek explained that the ministry had no intention to release the list as the original parliamentary reply approved by him and the deputy ministers did not contain the list.
He claimed that the ministry's trade services unit assistant director Salimi Sajari had attached the list 'without the knowledge of anyone' when the reply was sent to Parliament.
According to the top civil servant, Salimi had failed to answer the matter properly when he was later grilled on the matter.
Sidek, who have expressed regret in his letter to the Parliament, also said that Rafidah was in the dark over the parliamentary response as she was abroad on official duties at that time.
However, Lim demanded to know who had indeed misled the House.
He noted that former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad had openly denied that his cabinet had made any decisions pertaining to MPs being entitled to the permits.
This, he stressed, contradicted Sidek's claim.
He also wondered how Sidek could state that the ministry had no intentions of releasing the name list, when the opposition leader had previously called upon it to release the full list.
Calling for an investigation, Lim then moved a motion to refer Rafidah and Sidek to the Privileges Committee.
He even suggested that Sidek be demoted.
Surprisingly, his motion was seconded by a government backbencher, Mohamed Aziz (BN-Sri Gading), whose action may land him into trouble with the ruling coalition.
War of words
However, deputy speaker Lim Si Cheng immediately rejected the motion on the ground that the issue did not involve a parliamentarian's privileges.
Both Lim and Mohamed protested, arguing the deputy speaker does not have the power to reject the motion, and members of the House should be allowed to vote on the matter.
Later, deputy speaker Dr Yusof Yacob, who took over the chair from Si Cheng, also rejected the motion. He said the issue could be addressed tomorrow as Rafidah will be present in the House.
At this point, Bung Moktar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan) argued that the one-hour question-and-answer session was not sufficient to get to the bottom of the AP controversy.
"We want her to answer - the whole day," he exclaimed.
However, concurring with the deputy speakers was backbencher Mat Yasir Ikhsan (BN-Sabak Bernam), who felt the motion was unnecessary.
At this juncture, Chong Chieng Jen (DAP-Bandar Kuching) invoked the standing order and called for members to vote on the issue.
As the verbal salvos appeared to be getting out of hand, Yusof adjourned the sitting for 15 minutes.
When it resumed, he ruled that there was no need to vote on the motion and that his decision was final as empowered under standing order 99.
Met by reporters later, Lim said the explanation letter was issued to pave the way for Rafidah's appearance tomorrow to argue that the matter had been explained and dealt with.
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