The opposition said it will nevertheless proceed with the briefing in Parliament, if not tomorrow, then next week.
KUALA LUMPUR: The opposition has yet to get the go-ahead from the government to hold a briefing on the Scorpene submarine scandal in Parliament tomorrow.
However, it vowed to press on with the briefing even without government approval.
PKR vice-president Tian Chua said Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has so far remained silent on the matter and the opposition has considered postponing the briefing to early next week.
He added that the opposition was optimistic of a diplomatic outcome despite the government’s obvious hesitation.
“We will still try and negotiate and see what happens tomorrow,” Chua, the Batu MP, told FMT.
In another development, PKR leader and Subang MP R Sivarasa said the briefing by the French lawyer was also still pending the approval of House Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia.
“The speaker has not given us an answer if we can invite the lawyer to hold his briefing for the MPs in the parliament,” he said today.
Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim had earlier this month written to Hishammuddin seeking assurance that Suaram’s French lawyers will not be barred from entering Malaysia when they arrive later this month.
The letter came after confirmation from lawyer William Bourdon that he will seek to hold a bipartisan briefing to Malaysian lawmakers on the judicial investigation into the controversial purchase of the Scorpene-class submarines from French defence contractor DCNS.
Bourdon had confirmed in principle to give the briefing on Nov 22 (tomorrow) through a letter dated Oct 29.
Deported
According to Anwar’s letter, the PKR de facto leader had also urged Hishammuddin to respond urgently so that arrangements could be made.
This includes contacting DCNS lawyers to invite them to the briefing.
It was reported that Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (in charge of parliamentary affairs) Nazri Abdul Aziz had indicated that there was no problem holding the briefing in the Parliament building.
Bourdon was deported when he was said to have violated his visa by speaking on the issue at a fundraiser in Penang in July 2011.
The event was held by rights group Suaram which hired the lawyer to pursue the matter in the French court, alleging that Malaysia’s top leaders, including Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, is involved in the kickback scandal worth more than RM250 million.
Najib denied the allegation while the government claimed that the French authorities had never planned on pressing charges as alleged by Suaram and the opposition.
KUALA LUMPUR: The opposition has yet to get the go-ahead from the government to hold a briefing on the Scorpene submarine scandal in Parliament tomorrow.However, it vowed to press on with the briefing even without government approval.
PKR vice-president Tian Chua said Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has so far remained silent on the matter and the opposition has considered postponing the briefing to early next week.
He added that the opposition was optimistic of a diplomatic outcome despite the government’s obvious hesitation.
“We will still try and negotiate and see what happens tomorrow,” Chua, the Batu MP, told FMT.
In another development, PKR leader and Subang MP R Sivarasa said the briefing by the French lawyer was also still pending the approval of House Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia.
“The speaker has not given us an answer if we can invite the lawyer to hold his briefing for the MPs in the parliament,” he said today.
Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim had earlier this month written to Hishammuddin seeking assurance that Suaram’s French lawyers will not be barred from entering Malaysia when they arrive later this month.
The letter came after confirmation from lawyer William Bourdon that he will seek to hold a bipartisan briefing to Malaysian lawmakers on the judicial investigation into the controversial purchase of the Scorpene-class submarines from French defence contractor DCNS.
Bourdon had confirmed in principle to give the briefing on Nov 22 (tomorrow) through a letter dated Oct 29.
Deported
According to Anwar’s letter, the PKR de facto leader had also urged Hishammuddin to respond urgently so that arrangements could be made.
This includes contacting DCNS lawyers to invite them to the briefing.
It was reported that Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (in charge of parliamentary affairs) Nazri Abdul Aziz had indicated that there was no problem holding the briefing in the Parliament building.
Bourdon was deported when he was said to have violated his visa by speaking on the issue at a fundraiser in Penang in July 2011.
The event was held by rights group Suaram which hired the lawyer to pursue the matter in the French court, alleging that Malaysia’s top leaders, including Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, is involved in the kickback scandal worth more than RM250 million.
Najib denied the allegation while the government claimed that the French authorities had never planned on pressing charges as alleged by Suaram and the opposition.
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