Poor attendance of Barisan MPs
Rahmah GhazaliPublished: Oct 17, 2008 11:25 AM | Updated: Oct 17, 2008 11:52 AM
After a five-week hiatus, Parliament commenced its session this week in a somewhat quiet mood even though claims were made that Pakatan Rakyat’s motion of no-confidence against the prime minister would send fireworks across the floor.
After a five-week hiatus, Parliament commenced its session this week in a somewhat quiet mood even though claims were made that Pakatan Rakyat’s motion of no-confidence against the prime minister would send fireworks across the floor.
Perhaps, the non-presentation of the Pakatan motion and the low turnout of BN representatives led to the lackluster sitting in the early part of the week.
During the four-day sitting to debate Budget 2009 tabled last August, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim however managed to tick off Barisan leaders, stressing that the existing budget was “outdated” and not in line with the ongoing global financial crisis and that a fresh budget should be tabled.
The debate however did not receive much participation from the government side as many of their MPs were ‘missing in action’.
This caused Zuraida Kamaruddin (PKR-Ampang) to lash out at the poor attendance of BN legislators saying that they were “scared of hearing the truth in Anwar’s speech”.
“They were just scared, hence the poor turn-out. The whole week, I only saw three to four (BN) MPs in the House. The first, second and third blocks (of seats) were empty,” she told Malaysiakini.
Each block of seats consists of 20 seats and BN has 138 representatives in the House.
“The only BN representatives were backbenchers Batu Pahat (Puad Zarkashi), Kinabatangan (Bung Mokhtar Radin) and Sri Gading (Mohamad Aziz). The rest were all missing,” Zuraida said, adding that Puad was the only MP who sat in the House throughout the week.
“The others just went in and out,” she added.
Bung, who is also the deputy BN Backbenchers Club chairperson, however denied this, stressing that the poor attendance was caused by the ‘busy schedule’ of his fellow MPs.
“It is not like they did not want to come, they were just busy with their schedules as they had to visit their constituencies,” said the Kinabatangan MP when contacted today.
Asked how many did not turn up for the debate this week, Bung conceded that he “could not keep track”.
“There were also MPs who went in and out to have a break, so I would not know,” he added.
Controversies, not budget stole limelight
On the second day, Anwar (PKR-Permatang Pauh) called for an investigation on Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak for allegedly abusing his power in relation to the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case.
He made the request after an alleged exchange of text messages, purportedly between Najib and senior lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah over the alleged involvement of political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda in the case surfaced on the Internet over the weekend.
In a press conference on the same day, Najib neither confirmed nor denied his involvement but only stressed that there was no abuse of power in the conversation.
On another controversy, Najib also said he would soon explain in detail in the House regarding the questions raised over a contract to procure new helicopters for the armed forces which was secured during his tenure as defence minister.
Apart from this, the newly-appointed finance minister rejected the opposition's call for a fresh budget to address the current economic crisis although he acknowledged that some changes would be made in line with the latest situation.
The intensity then moved up a notch when DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang told the House that a high-level investigation had ‘confirmed’ that current attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail had abused his power to fabricate evidence in Anwar’s trial 10 years ago.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Abdul Aziz however disagreed, saying the investigation is still underway and that no conclusion has been made.
DAP ‘sassy’ MP Teresa Kok was briefly in the spotlight with her ‘war’ against Malay daily Utusan Malaysia.
This week, she was put under intense pressure from the newspaper after it published a short story titled 'Politik baru YB J' written by Malaysia Press Institute CEO Chamil Wariya that insinuated her.
Two days later, she received another attack from the Umno-owned daily after a poem titled 'Ratu anjing; yang melengking itu' (That queen of dogs that barks) emerged.
Many Pakatan leaders were on the fury over the poem as it ‘likened Kok to a dog’.
Kok was detained under the Internal Security Act last month for a week after she was embroiled in a religious controversy. She was also accused of questioning the loud azan (call for prayers) at a mosque in Puchong. She has denied the charge.
The following are Malaysiakini stories from Parliament this week:
Oct 13, 2008
Anwar calls for a fresh budget
New mechanism for fuel price adjustment?
‘Kidnapped’ Seputeh MP speaks up
Mukhriz: A sign that grassroots want change
Oct 14, 2008
Anwar: Zul will not ditch us
‘Investigate Najib over text-messages’
Najib: No abuse of power in SMS, will explain chopper deal
BN MP questions Sabah corridor progress
Indelible ink: no action against complainants
Oct 15, 2008
AG’s meddling ‘confirmed’ in Anwar’s trials
Amirsham: our economy not under threat
PAC to discuss helicopter deal
Oct 16, 2008
Seeing red over poem ‘likening Kok to dog’
Kit Siang stands by ‘meddling AG’ claim
Pakatan leaders condemn Hindraf ban
Gov’t open to reviewing voting age
Perhaps, the non-presentation of the Pakatan motion and the low turnout of BN representatives led to the lackluster sitting in the early part of the week.
During the four-day sitting to debate Budget 2009 tabled last August, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim however managed to tick off Barisan leaders, stressing that the existing budget was “outdated” and not in line with the ongoing global financial crisis and that a fresh budget should be tabled.The debate however did not receive much participation from the government side as many of their MPs were ‘missing in action’.
This caused Zuraida Kamaruddin (PKR-Ampang) to lash out at the poor attendance of BN legislators saying that they were “scared of hearing the truth in Anwar’s speech”.
“They were just scared, hence the poor turn-out. The whole week, I only saw three to four (BN) MPs in the House. The first, second and third blocks (of seats) were empty,” she told Malaysiakini.
Each block of seats consists of 20 seats and BN has 138 representatives in the House.
“The only BN representatives were backbenchers Batu Pahat (Puad Zarkashi), Kinabatangan (Bung Mokhtar Radin) and Sri Gading (Mohamad Aziz). The rest were all missing,” Zuraida said, adding that Puad was the only MP who sat in the House throughout the week.
“The others just went in and out,” she added.
Bung, who is also the deputy BN Backbenchers Club chairperson, however denied this, stressing that the poor attendance was caused by the ‘busy schedule’ of his fellow MPs.
“It is not like they did not want to come, they were just busy with their schedules as they had to visit their constituencies,” said the Kinabatangan MP when contacted today.
Asked how many did not turn up for the debate this week, Bung conceded that he “could not keep track”.
“There were also MPs who went in and out to have a break, so I would not know,” he added.
Controversies, not budget stole limelight
On the second day, Anwar (PKR-Permatang Pauh) called for an investigation on Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak for allegedly abusing his power in relation to the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case.He made the request after an alleged exchange of text messages, purportedly between Najib and senior lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah over the alleged involvement of political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda in the case surfaced on the Internet over the weekend.
In a press conference on the same day, Najib neither confirmed nor denied his involvement but only stressed that there was no abuse of power in the conversation.
On another controversy, Najib also said he would soon explain in detail in the House regarding the questions raised over a contract to procure new helicopters for the armed forces which was secured during his tenure as defence minister.
Apart from this, the newly-appointed finance minister rejected the opposition's call for a fresh budget to address the current economic crisis although he acknowledged that some changes would be made in line with the latest situation.
The intensity then moved up a notch when DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang told the House that a high-level investigation had ‘confirmed’ that current attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail had abused his power to fabricate evidence in Anwar’s trial 10 years ago.Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Abdul Aziz however disagreed, saying the investigation is still underway and that no conclusion has been made.
DAP ‘sassy’ MP Teresa Kok was briefly in the spotlight with her ‘war’ against Malay daily Utusan Malaysia.
This week, she was put under intense pressure from the newspaper after it published a short story titled 'Politik baru YB J' written by Malaysia Press Institute CEO Chamil Wariya that insinuated her.
Two days later, she received another attack from the Umno-owned daily after a poem titled 'Ratu anjing; yang melengking itu' (That queen of dogs that barks) emerged.
Many Pakatan leaders were on the fury over the poem as it ‘likened Kok to a dog’.
Kok was detained under the Internal Security Act last month for a week after she was embroiled in a religious controversy. She was also accused of questioning the loud azan (call for prayers) at a mosque in Puchong. She has denied the charge.
The following are Malaysiakini stories from Parliament this week:
Oct 13, 2008
Anwar calls for a fresh budget
New mechanism for fuel price adjustment?
‘Kidnapped’ Seputeh MP speaks up
Mukhriz: A sign that grassroots want change
Oct 14, 2008
Anwar: Zul will not ditch us
‘Investigate Najib over text-messages’
Najib: No abuse of power in SMS, will explain chopper deal
BN MP questions Sabah corridor progress
Indelible ink: no action against complainants
Oct 15, 2008
AG’s meddling ‘confirmed’ in Anwar’s trials
Amirsham: our economy not under threat
PAC to discuss helicopter deal
Oct 16, 2008
Seeing red over poem ‘likening Kok to dog’
Kit Siang stands by ‘meddling AG’ claim
Pakatan leaders condemn Hindraf ban
Gov’t open to reviewing voting age
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