Anti-terrorism bill ready for Parliament

New law to be tabled at the next sitting in March, says Wan Junaidi.

FMT

KUCHING: A new law on prevention of terrorism will be ready for tabling in Parliament next month, says Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

He said the law is crucial to curb the influence of terrorists because existing provisions mostly deals with matters after the fact.

The new Prevention of Terrorism Bill was drafted after Parliament debated and approved a government White Paper on combating the threat of Islamic State, in November.

Fears have been expressed that the new law would incorporate measures for detention without trial, similar to those provided under the now-repealed Internal Security Act, which was frequently criticised for being used against political dissidents under the cover of national security.

Wan Junaidi said preventative laws were needed “so that we can take action even before acts are committed”. He said terrorist groups that misused Islam as a political tool were a threat to all Malaysians, not just Muslims.

“They are influencing the youth, our children. They use multiple approaches. They go to universities, to schools. This is a big challenge for the Government,” Junaidi was quoted as saying on Thursday after a 14-year-old girl was detained on suspicion of trying to join Islamic State fighters in the Middle East.

The girl, from Muar, was arrested under the new security offences law on Tuesday before she could board a Cairo-bound flight.

White Paper to combat Islamic State threat passed by Parliament

Parliament today approved the White Paper on combating the threat posed by Islamic State, with a promise to enact a new law to help prevent such threats in future, Bernama reported.

Winding up the debate on the motion this evening, Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamid said that the proposed Anti-Terrorism Act would stress on prevention, in addition to eradication of the existing threat.

"I also want to give an assurance that the government will not follow the laws of other nations to create an anti-terrorism act, although in reality six nations have drawn up such an act," he said.

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia then approved the motion which was tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, after receiving more ayes than nays.

According to Bernama, six Members of Parliament, three each from the Barisan Nasional (BN) and three from the opposition, debated the motion on the White Paper which explained the danger the Islamic State posed and the level of threat to national security.

The prime minister had informed Parliament that the new law to eradicate the involvement of Malaysians in militancy and terrorism, would be tabled at the next Dewan Rakyat sitting.

In stressing that Malaysia is committed to tackle the threat of terrorism with the international community, Najib said such cooperation will contribute to strenghtening national security.

"The involvement of Malaysians in militant activities in the name of Islam have tarnished the country's image and affected the purity of Islam.

"All citizens, regardless of race, religion and political leanings have to reject extreme ideologies and have confidence that the wasatiyyah or moderation concept is the best way to ensure the nation's peace and harmony," he said.

The motion received the thumbs up from opposition MPs as well, led by opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (PKR-Permatang Pauh).

The defacto PKR chief said the new law must be firm in helping the government to tackle the problems of terrorism, and not be used for political gain.

He also urged the government to explain militant activities more closely, especially on Islamic State.

As of November 13 this year, 39 Malaysians have been identified to be part of Isis in Syria and Iraq while another 40 has been arrested by the police, including those who had just returned from Syria.

Although 19 has been released due to lack of evidence, the government has imposed restrictions on them travelling overseas and they are currently being monitored by the police.

The Malaysians fighting alongside Isis forces in the Middle East were influenced to take up the struggle via social media, intelligence sources had said previously.

Some, like former Kedah PAS Youth information chief Lotfi Ariffin who was killed in Syria, had not only posted about his activities with the militants on Facebook, but had issued call-to-action messages, too.

To date, five Malaysians have been killed in action in the Middle East. – November 26, 2014.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/white-paper-to-combat-islamic-state-threat-passed-by-parliament#sthash.vyaWpQL6.dpuf

Deputy speaker aims jibe at Bung's actress wife

Time for Parliament reform

In 2011, Malaysians were promised by the Najib Abdul Razak administration that there will be “functional and inclusive democracy”, which he solemnly declared in his Malaysia Day message.

However, making the Parliament function and inclusive is an uphill task and only rarely exciting. One such rare instance was the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code in 2004, where parliamentarians went round the country soliciting views and debating with the public.

The other time was by the Select Committee on National Unity and National Service. Since 2004, we have not experienced any such consultations.

There are many issues of concern surrounding the Parliament and not surprisingly, people have lost faith in the process of law and policy making.

In a study carried out by Ngeow Yeok Meng, et al on ‘Politeness and Ethnic Sensitivities in the Malaysian Parliament’ (2008), she found that out of 222 MPs, 5 percent or 10 MPs were found to be involved in using negative remarks to attack others or to defend themselves, with name-calling using animals such as pigs and snakes or adjectives like “biadap” (rude) and so forth. Not to mention unchecked sexist remarks by parliamentarians such as Bung Moktar Radin.

The larger assault to parliamentary democracy other than name-calling is of course the deliberate acts to silence debates, making one wonders what is still left of democracy in the Parliament.

Recently, N Surendran (Padang Serai) and Fuziah Saleh (Kuantan) were slapped with six-month suspensions for simply questioning the speaker’s decision. Their suspension was not given sufficient time for Parliament to debate but rushed through by the speaker.

In 2011, the passing of the Peaceful Assembly Act was completed within seven days of its introduction. The opposition MPs walked out in protest at the limited time allowance for debate on the amendments to the bill.

We also have a situation where, within one day, eight bills were rushed through on April 19, 2011, including crucial bills like the Election Offences (Amendment) Bill 2012, Universities and University Colleges (Amendment) Bill 2012, and Printing Presses and Publications (Amendment) (PPPA) Bill 2012.

As a result of bad law-making, students and academicians are now taken to task, suspended or persuaded to even take early retirement for expressing views deemed to be anti-government. Also, the PPPA still hovers over media companies’ existence with avenues remain closed for constructive amendments.

All these are but symptoms of an executive-controlled Parliament, with powerful and unelected (i.e., unpunishable by voters) speaker, partisan and arbitrary agenda setting, last-minute tabling of bills, inadequate debate time, unanswered or poorly answered parliamentary questions, no room for non-governmental business, insufficient resource support for MPs, and last but not least, lack of public consultation, access and participation in legislative processes.

Now, what “functional and inclusive democracy”, if we do not even have a functional and inclusive parliament? And, if the August House is but a rubber-stamp of the executive?

Urgent need for reform and public confidence-building

Parliamentary reforms need to happen to restore public confidence. It will restore effective legislative function, give MPs a more meaningful space to debate and counter-propose in the formation of laws and public policies, allow for public feedbacks as well as to ensure we truly have a working, “functional and inclusive” parliament.

Bersih 2.0 and like-minded civil society groups are now working on a comprehensive agenda on parliamentary reform. We would like to invite all concerned members of the public to share with us their knowledge and insights. Here are some of the issues we are looking into.

1. Reform of speaker’s power

The speaker and deputy speakers now enjoy unchecked power and their partial decisions confirm their representation of the interests of only one coalition, and not the entire Parliament. To make matters worse, the speaker is not even an elected parliamentarian so much so he can never be punished by voters!

Hence, it is timely to review the Standing Order that govern the day-to-day running and rules of debates in Parliament, the discipline and code of conduct of MPs, and public businesses.

2. Non-governmental business

In place of the speaker and his deputies’ unquestionable discretion, there must be a bi-party or multiparty mechanism to set the agenda of the House. The parliamentary session now is exclusively occupied by governmental business such as bills tabled by ministers, leaving no room for non-governmental businesses.

Reforms must take place for government backbenchers and opposition parliamentarians must be able to push their agenda. These include (a) greater priority to private members’ bills to ensure they are debated; (b) “voting by division” on every bill and conscience voting so that MPs can take individual positions and not be held back by party whips; (c) recognition and access to ministerial information for shadow cabinet; and (d) “opposition week” for the opposition to raise issues.

3. Ample time for questioning and debates

Time allocation must be reasonable that it is not used as a convenient excuse to bury the opposition or backbench questions. To begin with, question time should be extended to ensure a maximum number of questions - especially the difficult ones - get to be answered orally. There should also be Prime Minister’s Question (PMQ) Time so that the prime minister can be scrunitised and grilled by opposition MPs and government backbenchers.

For tabling of bills, MPs must be given ample time to study the bills and prepare for the debates by way of stakeholder consultation amongst others. Only then, parliamentarians can play the role of lawmakers to propose amendments when necessary and not just be reduced to the rubber-stamp of the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC), which is now the de facto lawmaking body.

This would mean more days that the Parliament should convened in a year.  In 2012, the Dewan Rakyat met for 68 days or precisely 560 hours 58 minutes. Divided by 222 MPs, on an average an MP had only 2 hours 31 minutes 37 seconds to speak and be heard of the entire year in 2012.

This also comes back to the size of the Parliament. The more MPs, then the less time each of them can speak, and they are more inclined to go for their 15 minutes of fame rather than deliberating on laws and policies substantially.

4. Parliamentary committees

Modern Parliaments set up standing and select committees to facilitate division of labour amongst MPs. This is however under-utilised in the Malaysian Parliament, and most members of the public have probably only heard of one standing committee, the Public Accounts Committee.

With members from across parties, standing committees can be set up to monitor ministerial business or to formulate specific laws or policies. One important advantage of such committees is that they facilitate public access and participation in the legislative and policy-formulation process through mechanisms like hearings, making the political system more consultative.

5. Research support for MPs

MPs are usually left to their device to carry out their own law and policy researches with little or no support in terms of staff and availability of data or information. A handful of Parliament staff are allocated and shared by 222 parliamentarians and this limits building substantive debates that could happen. Budgets need to be set aside to build capacity and support from resource staff.

Parliamentary reform hand-in-hand with electoral reform

At the end of the day, what we really need is an institutional reform of Parliament so as to rebuild it to represent the democracy that we want. The problem will not get fixed even if we see a change of government.

This requires political will, not just from the political parties, but also from the public. Parliamentary reform must be seen as an inseparable extension to electoral reform.

Really, what is the point of fighting for free and fair elections if that would only deliver us dysfunctional parliament and legislatures?

---

MARIA CHIN ABDULLAH is the chairperson for the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections 2.0 (Bersih 2.0) and the executive director of Empower. She believes politicians are bad masters if not made good servants through free, fair and competitive elections. Bersih 2.0 is having a fund raising dinner to support its work on free and fair elections. More information here.

 

Government And Opposition MPs Unite On Seeking Justice For MH17 Victims

KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 (Bernama) -- The tragic Malaysian Airlines (MAS) flight MH17 incident has unite the government and opposition Members of Parliament in working closely and supporting the government to seek justice for the crew and passengers.

Communication and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek said their attitude in unanimously giving their full support to the country must be continued so that efforts to bring the irresponsible parties to justice could be done.

"We have gone through a difficult path but the message we convey to the world is clear regardless of whether they are from the big powers like Russia, Ukraine government or rebels.

"Even though we are a small country we have a big heart and we want to do the best we can in getting justice for the victims," he said when met at the Parliament lobby here Wednesday.

Ahmad Shabery also wanted the people to stop all accusations and speculations on the crash, which he described as an insensitive act.

DAP secretary-general and Bagan Member of Parliament, Lim Guan Eng said it was vital for all quarters to unite when the nation was saddened by MH17 crash tragedy in Ukraine last Thursday.

He said the opposition party also wished to show the world that they were together with the government on this matter to strongly condemn the tragedy which had befallen the country's aircraft besides bringing those responsible to justice.

Regional and Rural Development Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal said the international community needed to give its cooperation and support to help Malaysia sought justice for all the victims.

"We do not want to point fingers at anyone or seek revenge but we need to find justice at the international level because it involves a commercial aircraft," he said.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said the approach taken by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who was not swayed by the geopolitical situation in Ukraine, had managed to persuade the rebels to bring out the crash victims' bodies and obtained the black box for further investigation.

Commenting on the investigation that was conducted by the ministry on the crash, the Sembrong Member of Parliament said :"We have the expertise and consensus from the international organisation that we are going through the process. I believe the most difficult part was to get bodies and the black box out but that has been achieved...we'll move from there","

Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun said Malaysia was really facing a big challenge in the MH17 incident so soon after the loss of MH370 four months ago.

She said it was the time for all the people to be united in facing the challenge by giving their full support to the forces and family members of the victims.

"The motion that was tabled today on the MH17 incident is a timely move, which shows our leaders were concerned and wanted to voice the people's views and show solidarity during the emergency sitting," she said.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim said the move taken by Najib was a smart one that also received the support of the opposition parties.

"His effort is one of the best ways to solve this issue and had not the bodies and black box not procured, all parties will point fingers at us," he said.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Mah Siew Keong expressed pride that MPs from the BN and Pakatan Rakyat gave their full support on the motion.

"Whenever all members, regardless of political background, debated on the incident, I felt touched and proud because everyone showed their sympathy and undivided support in facing this challenge.

"Even though MAS has faced big blows twice within a short period, I will still use its services because as a Malaysian, we need to regain confidence in our own product to continue to be marketed at the international level," he said.

Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar welcomed the motion that was tabled during the special sitting to discuss on the MH17 tragedy today.

"It is a good start. I'm happy to see some issues from my party are being shared. We want to be included during a briefing", she said.

Nurul Izzah also reiterated the party's stand that the parties responsible for the crash should be brought to face justice and an indepth discussion on crash was ongoing.

Speaker: Opposition should form shadow Cabinet

(The Rakyat Post) – Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia today suggested that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) create a shadow Cabinet to smoothen the debate session during the parliamentary sittings.

He said this was to make it easier for the Opposition group to choose from among their parliamentarians those who were experts in their respective fields to debate on an issue more effectively.

“In most countries which practise parliamentary democracy, when one side loses in a general election, they will still set up a shadow Cabinet to debate on the issues according to their expertise.

“This way, sound ideas too can come from PR,” he said when met by reporters in his office at Parliament building, here.

Pandikar Amin was earlier asked on the Dewan Rakyat’s move to hold an emergency parliamentary sitting tomorrow to debate on a motion to condemn the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) plane, Flight MH17 in Ukraine last Thursday.

He advised the lawmakers involved in tomorrow’s debate to make good use of the time in debating on the issue of the MH17 crash.

“This emergency parliamentary sitting is a government initiative to convey the voice of the people on the MH17 crash incident which has killed almost 300 killed.

“Anyway, the time allocated for the day’s sitting is only from 10am to 5.30pm.”

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had decided on calling for an emergency meeting of Parliament to table the motion condemning the inhumane action against MH17, which is believed to have been shot down by a surface-to air-missile in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, on Thursday.

The proceedings tomorrow will be carried live on TV1 from 10am.

Senate Creates History, Extends Sitting Until Past Midnight

KUALA LUMPUR, April 29 (Bernama) -- The Dewan Negara created history Tuesday when the sitting lasted until past midnight to enable all matters at hand to be resolved.

This is the second time that Parliament faced such a situation after the Dewan Rakyat sitting was adjourned at 3.22 am on April 20, 2012.

The Senate sitting was adjourned at 12.45 am on Wednesday after Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Razali Ibrahim completed his winding up speech on the debate on the motion of thanks for the royal address.

Senate president Tan Sri Abu Zahar Ujang, however, did not stop the proceeding when the clock struck midnight as Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom was having the floor.

Earlier, Abu Zahar in allowing the sitting to be extended until all matters were resolved, said the minister's presence to answer all questions and the willingness of all the senators to stay put, must be appreciated.

"The minister's presence is a good sign, while the Senate members' willingness to wait is appreciated. So, I ask for a proposal be put forward to enable this sitting be extended until each ministry has wound up its debate," he said.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim then read the standing order to cancel out the earlier order made and this was supported by Razali.

According to today's proceedings, the Dewan Negara needed to pass the motion of thanks for the royal address before the sitting could be postponed as from tomorrow, the Senate needs to debate on four bills.

These are the Supplementary Supply Bill 2014, Goods and Services Tax Bill 2014, Judges Remuneration (Amendment) Bill 2013 and the Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Offensive Weapons (Amendment) Bill 2013.

The first meeting of the second session of the Dewan Negara has been set for nine days from April 21 until May 6.

The sitting continues tomorrow.

No action against Loga, says Speaker

Dewan Rakyat Speaker says the Deputy FT Minister did not intend to mislead the House so he will not be referred to the RPC.

KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy Federal Territories Minister J Loga Bala Mohan will not be referred to the Rights and Privileges Committee for misleading the Dewan Rakyat because there is no element of malice, said Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia.

Pandikar Amin said he could not see that there was intention from Loga to confuse or mislead the Dewan.

“I could not find any element of malice. It was just that his delivery on the issue was different and was misinterpreted,” he said in Parliament today.

Pandikar was referring to Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng’s concern over Loga’s promise that the proposed assessment rates would be deferred to March pending consultation with stakeholders.

However, Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Mansor had insisted that the new assessment rates would take effect on Jan 1, despite objection by many quarters.

Lim had quoted Section 36(12) of the Standing Order which provides for any member who imputes statements that mislead the House is deemed to be in contempt of the House and the member may be referred to the Committee of Privileges for the offence.

Pandikar, however, said although assessment rates would be increased, the quantum had not been determined.

“The final rate will only be determined at the end of March, 2014. Ratepayers can thus pay according to the current rate,” he said.

Pandikar said DBKL would not penalise those who did not settle the tax before its implementation.

He urged both sides of the divide not to politicise the issue.

Second ever disabled senator sworn in

Disability issues activist Bathmavathi Krishnan was today sworn in as the country's second ever disabled senator in the Dewan Negara.

She was sworn in before Dewan Negara speaker Abu Zahar Ujang in his office in Parliament House this morning. It was witnessed by several representatives from NGOs for the disabled.

"Even though you are handicapped, I want you to speak up in the Dewan Negara," Abu Zahar (left) said when congratulating Bathmavathi.

He added that the appointment showed that the Dewan Negara represented people of all communities.

Bathmavathi, whose birthday was yesterday, described her appointment as "the best birthday gift" for her.

"My priority will be to see that accessibility issues of the disabled community are addressed.

"I will also bring the concerns of the disabled community to improve their standard of living and quality of life during my tenure," she said.

Bathamavathi has been involved in disabled issues for 35 years and speaks six languages and dialects, including Mandarin.

The first disabled senator was Ismail Md Salleh, who was appointed in 2007. Ismail, who was visually impaired, passed away in 2009.

Surendran suspension 'against Standing Orders'

The six-month suspension of Padang Serai MP N Surendran from the Dewan Rakyat was “overkill” and contravened the House's Standing Orders, NGO Lawyers for Liberty says.

By not adhering to the standing orders, it said, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia (left) had acted in “self-interest” as he had an “axe to grind” following Surendran's comments against him.

Among procedures it alleged were contravened were:

The motion brought by the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department did not specify what provision it was being made under.

“(This) should have been fatal and rejected outright by the speaker (especially for such a serious matter).

“But the speaker not only accepted it but went on to explain on behalf of the Prime Minister's Department that it was done under Rule 27,” Lawyers for Liberty founder Eric Paulsen said.

The motion was submitted at 6pm on Nov 13 and tabled the next day at 11.30am, in less than 24 hours.

Under Rule 27(3), only a motion involving public interest can be brought with 24 hour's notice.

Paulsen said that this was in contradiction with the speaker's strictness on the 48-hour suspension period earlier meted out to Surendran.

This too, Paulsen said, contravened Rule 44(2), which states that the 48-hour period is inclusive of the day of the incident of suspension.

There was no debate or definition of why the matter was considered “public interest”.

“The use of Rule 27 in this case is clearly erroneous and a serious conflict of interest as the motion is presented to the speaker for his deliberation when the speaker’s position is itself the subject of the motion,” he said.

Surendran was not brought before the Rights and Privileges Committee, under Rule 80, but his fate was “summarily executed by BN parliamentarians” who believed Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor's version of events regarding the temple demolition “wholesale”.

“This harsh and overkill reaction, a serious blow to democracy, sends a dangerous and chilling message to the opposition...

“(This message is) that the opposition can only voice its dissent at the risk of serious repercussions and BN can and will abuse its majority votes if the opposition were to overstep its 'boundaries',” Paulsen said.

Surendran was yesterday suspended for 48 hours for trying to raise the issue of the demolition of the annexures of the Sri Muneswarar Kalyamman Temple on Jalan P Ramlee in Kuala Lumpur.

He was, at an earlier sitting, booted out of the Dewan Rakyat for trying to raise issue of the death in custody of P Karuna Nithi.

Of shouting matches & paper planes: PKR MP suspended for 6 months

It was a morning of angry exchanges, paper planes and ripped up motions in the Dewan Rakyat today - with first time MP N Surendran (PKR) eventually being suspended from Parliament sessions for 6 months.

'If you are unhappy with me, bring a motion'

Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia has denied that he is not open to criticism but said that any MP dissatisfied with him should put forth a motion to be deliberated.

"I'm open to criticism through a motion," he said after giving PKR’s Padang Serai MP N Surendran the marching orders again this morning, claiming that the latter's two-day suspension following his ejection from the House on Tuesday would not be over until after 11.30am.

The House is today debating a motion to suspend Surendran for six months from the Dewan Rakyat over comments he had made during a press conference at the Parliament lobby shortly after his ejection on Tuesday, during which he called Pandikar (right) a "biased" speaker.

"If you criticise outside of the House, it is insulting both the speaker and the House," said Pandikar, who later abruptly left the proceedings to give way to his deputy Ronald Kiandee.

Pandikar said that Surendran would be allowed back into the House the moment he left his chair for Kiandee.
Surendran, who was later suspended for six months from the Parliament, had yesterday questioned whether the motion against him means that the speaker is “above criticism”.

However, PAS’ Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad argued that it wouldn’t be feasible for MPs to bring a motion every time they are unhappy with the speaker, because many motions brought forth by the opposition are not even debated in the House if there are time constraints.

Paper shredder Bung leads BN MPs in tit for tat

PARLIAMENT In a rather bizarre tit-for-tat action, BN parliamentarians led by the vocal Kinabatangan MP Bung Mokhtar Radin tore the motion paper tabled by PKR's Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh in Parliament today.

This was their "revenge" against the Pakatan Rakyat MPs for tearing the government's motion to suspend PKR's Padang Serai MP N Surendran from Parliament for six months.

In the morning sitting, Pakatan MPs branded the motion to suspend Surendran as "usul haram" (an illegal motion), and later tore the motion papers in a standing protest in Parliament.
                       
But after Fuziah (left) made a technical error in her motion to deduct the salaries of five advisers in the Prime Minister's Department, Bung Mokhtar stood up and demanded that Fuziah be referred to the rights and privileges committee for the error in the motion.

Subsequently, he called the motion "usul haram" (illegal motion), mirroring Pakatan MPs’ action earlier in the morning, before tearing the red motion paper vociferously and throwing it up in the air.

Bung Mokhtar stood up for more than a minute and then started chanting "tipu" (cheating) all by himself as the debate on the motion was delayed.
Bung Mokhtar: This motion is wrong. There is no need for debates. I urge my comrades to stand alongside me. We reject this motion because it is haram (Procedurely wrong). Haram and must not be debated. We reject it 100 percent!

Kiandee: Don't...

[BN MPs stood up]

Bung Mokhtar: Koyak! Koyak! (Tear it up!)

Sim Tong Him (DAP-Kota Melaka): Sit down.

Bung Mokhtar: Koyak! Koyak! (Tear it up!). The motion is haram. Haram! Haram! The motion is haram!

Rafizi Ramli (PKR-Pandan): I want my friends from BN to know, because of their comedic theatrics, this is going up on Youtube later.

Bung Mokhtar: [Referring to Pakatan Rakyat MP's antics earlier] There were those doing funny things earlier. Why don't you talk about that? Say it! It's worse than what we are doing. Say it! [To BN MPs] Stand up! Stand up! Stand up!

This motion (is an attempt at) deception. How can we debate this? Why should we? This motion is haram. Haram, haram, haram! We cannot (debate). Haram, haram, haram! We cannot (debate). Tipu (lies), tipu, tipu [repeatedly says "tipu" while opposition MPs tries to interject].

Fuziah's motion was to cut the salaries of five special advisers in the Prime Minister's Department.

The five were Rais Yatim, Noh Omar, Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, Johari Baharom and Hasbi Habibollah.

But with the attention grabbed by the conduct of the BN MPs, the debate for the motion did not proceed smoothly and the motion was later rejected.

The point of contention was that Fuziah made a technical error in the exact wordings of the positions of these five special advisers.

Later, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Razali Ibrahim told opposition MPs that "if it hurts (for tearing the motion papers), that's how we felt in the morning."

Surendran suspended for six months

Despite strong criticism that the motion was against the procedure, Parliament suspended N. Surendran for six months for insulting the Speaker.
UPDATED

KUALA LUMPUR: The Parliament suspended Padang Serai MP N Surendran today for six months for insulting Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia amid strong criticism that the motion is illegal and against the procedure.

The Pakatan Rakyat lawmakers rejected the motion when it was tabled at 11.30am because it did not fulfill the one-day filing requirement.

The motion was only filed at 6pm yesterday.

Surendran had accused the Speaker for uttering complete lies and being biased in a media conference after the PKR leader was ejected by the House on Tuesday.

Pakatan lawmakers said it was a conflict of interest when the Speaker allowed the motion to be debated in one day, although it was not a matter of public interest.

They said under normal circumstances it would take days before the motion could be debated.

However, amid banging the table and tearing up the motion, Minister in the Prime Minister Nancy Shukri proceed to read out the motion.

It was later adopted with 92 MPs voting in favour and the opposition members boycotting the voting.

Unhappy Pakatan reps

Earlier, Surendran who entered the House after serving a two-day suspension since Tuesday was told to leave as Speaker Pandikar Amin had said the MP was required to fulfill a full 48-hour suspension. He was ejected at 11.30am on Tuesday.

However the issue of defining the time period became the bone of contention with Pakatan reps crying foul over the decision by deputy speaker Ronald Kiandee to allow the tabling of the government motion.

“Why is it that two persons with the same title and sit on the same chair can give two contradictory definition to ‘one day’?

“Is it because he is a Pakatan member then he has to observe the suspension based on time, but if it is a motion brought by Umno then it doesn’t need to observe any laws?” Gombak MP Azmin Ali said.

Gelang Patah MP Lim Kit Siang said Surendran should be referred rightfully to the House’s rights and privileges committee to ascertain the proof of his wrongdoings instead of being slapped with a suspension immediately.

In response, Kiandee said the speaker has the discretion to expedite a government motion without informing the reason.

“It is definitely a matter of public interest because the speaker is the highest institution of the Parliament,” he said after repeatedly pressed by opposition lawmakers.

Speaking to reporters later, Surendran said the suspension would not affect him “one jot” from taking up matters of public interest in the future.

He said the whole matter stemmed from his insistence to move an emergency motion on the demolition of part of the 101-year-old Sri Muneswarar Kaliyamman temple at Jalan Raja Chulan on Tuesday.

“I will continue doing my work after six months. I will be back,” said Surendran.

Meanwhile, PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo have condemned the suspension which they deemed were unlawful.

Gov't moves to suspend Surendran for six months

PARLIAMENT A motion has been proposed in the Dewan Rakyat to suspend PKR vice-president N Surendran for six months from the August House for allegedly insulting the House speaker, Pandikar Amin Mulia, and tarnishing the good name of the House itself.

It is expected to be moved tomorrow, and will be proposed by a Minister from the Prime Minister’s Department.

This was revealed through a green paper to notify of the motion which was on the tables of all the MPs today.

Surendran, who is the Padang Serai MP, allegedly made the offence during a press conference at the Parliament lobby yesterday morning shortly after he was ejected from the House by Pandikar Amin (left) for attempting to bring an emergency motion on the demolition of the annexe to the Sri Muneswarar temple in Jalan P Ramlee.

During the press conference, Surendran said that the speaker was “biased” and also said that the facts about the temple demolition given by the Federal Territories Ministry, which was repeated by Pandikar Amin, as being “utter lies”.

Surendran has already been ejected from the House once earlier this session for attempting to bring an emergency motion about the death in custody case of P Karuna Nithi.

Previously, in 2010, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim along with opposition MPs Karpal Singh, R Sivarasa, and Azmin Ali were suspended from the House for six months after the motion was passed without any debate.

They were suspended due to allegedly “misleading” comments they had made about the government's 1Malaysia slogan, where they had claimed that the slogan was inspired by an Israeli initiative.

In March 2009, Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo was suspended for a year from the House for calling Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak a “murderer” during a heated debate in Parliament.
When contacted later, Surendran labelled the motion as an attempt to “stifle” his voice and that he would defend himself when the motion is moved in the Parliament.

“My question is - is the speaker above criticism?” he asked.

“This is a ridiculous and extreme motion, when I have committed no other offence except to criticise the speaker,” he said.

Penal Code amendment planned for greater secrecy

A Bill to be presented in Parliament this week will push Malaysia into the dark ages of a totalitarian state as it threatens to imprison government officers who disclose any kind of information to the public, an opposition MP said today.

The Bill aims to include a new, draconian Section 203A to the Penal Code, which PKR vice-president N Surendran said would make the Penal Code worse than the already stringent 1972 Official Secrets Act (OSA).

Urging the government to immediately drop the proposed amendment, Surendran said, "This provision is unprecedented in any modern democracy; and is more suited to one-party states such as North Korea.

"With this provision, the BN is dragging Malaysia further into the dark ages. Why does the BN government need such an stifling and undemocratic law? What do they want to hide from the public?"

Under the OSA, only materials certified by the minister or his appointee can be classified as top secret or restricted. But under the new Section 203A of the Penal Code, everything becomes secret, Surendran, who is the MP for Padang Serai, added in a statement.

He warned that democracy, good governance and transparency in Malaysia would suffer a severe setback if Parliament passes the amendment.

"This provision is clearly intended to prevent the public from obtaining information that can expose corruption, financial scandals and mismanagement by the BN government," he said.

PKR has for long called for a more open government and for the enacting of a Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.

Two opposition run states, Selangor and Penang, have recently passed their FOI enactments, which allows the public to request for any state level non-sensitive information that is not subject to the federal OSA restrictions.

‘Thambi’ and ‘Anna’ in heated exchange

BN and PKR MPs in heated exchange in Tamil during parliament session.

KUALA LUMPUR: A heated exchange between two MPs in Tamil had the House bewildered and Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia could not make a ruling as he was unable to understand the language.

The exchange was between Azeez Abdul Rahim (BN-Baling) and G Manivannan (PKR-Kapar) during Prevention of Crime Act 1959 debate.

Abdul Azeez started the exchange in Tamil: “Dei thambi (hey, little brother), Chin Peng died in Bangkok, he did not die in Malaysia.”

Manivannan responded in Tamil, calling the Baling MP “Anna” (big brother), and said “you can bring back ashes of Malaysians who died from around the world, why not allow Chin Peng’s ashes back to the country”.

They were debating on the government’s blanket ban against the ashes of former Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) secretary-general Chin Peng from being brought back into Malaysia. Chin Peng had died in Bangkok on Sept 16.

In the middle of the exchange, Pandikar Amin said he could not make a ruling because he was unable to understand Tamil language.

Kuala Krai MP Hatta Ramli stood up and said for a moment he thought he was at the “New Delhi Parliament”.

Parliament Uncut | Zahid: PCA amendments to protect students, toursim

Speaker flays Surendran for cheap publicity

Parliament speaker nails Surendran for having personal interest in a motion being brought before the question and answer session.

KUALA LUMPUR: Dewan Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia mocked that Padang Serai MP N Surendran might have wanted to promote himself due to personal interest in bringing up a petition in the House on Tuesday.

Surendran’s aggression in pushing the petition to be debated before the question and answer session sparked an argument between him and Pandikar that eventually led to his expulsion from the House.

The petition was made on behalf of the family of custodial death victim P Karuna Nithi and Surendran is representing them as their legal counsel.

Surendran insists that it is the rightful procedure for the House to hear a petition before the Q&A session, and further criticised Pandikar as being a dictator for throwing him out.

Commenting on the remarks, Pandikar said one must take into account that Surendran might have some “financial interests” in bring up the petition.

“In my opinion, he is doing it because of personal agenda to get media coverage and to be a hero.

“He wants to show the family that he is brave, he dares to go against the speaker until he got thrown out of the House. This might have been his agenda,” he told a media conference today.

Pandikar then repeated his yesterday’s statement that it is not the duty of a speaker to discuss a petition that infringes the jurisdiction of the government.

Surendran’s petition was to ask for the inquest on Karuna Nithi to be scrapped since the post-mortem report revealed that the latter suffered 49 injury marks while in police custody.

Pandikar said since there is still a channel to identify the cause of his death, there is no necessity for parliament to discuss the subject.

“In certain countries like India, petition is only raised in parliament if there is no other remedy available,” he said.

PKR MP Surendran thrown out of Dewan

The Speaker orders the Padang Serai MP out for wanting to discuss a custodial death matter.
UPDATED

KUALA LUMPUR: PKR’s Padang Serai MP N. Surendran was ejected from the Dewan Rakyat shortly after the session opened this morning due to his insistence to move a petition before the question and answer session.

Surendran cited Standing Order 14(f) to move a petition for the house to discuss the death in custody of P Karuna Nithi, whose post mortem report says he suffered 49 injury marks.

Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia first thought that Surendran raised a point of order, but later said that the petition can be heard after the Q and A session.

Surendran, however, insisted that it should be heard immediately, which sparked a shouting match and ended with him being thrown out from the house.

Pandikar did not said the days that Surendran would be barred, hence PKR Subang MP R Sivarasa said Surendran would most probably face a two-day ban.

Speaking to reporters at the Parliament’s lobby later, Surendran said the Standing Order 14(f) allows MPs to raise a petition on behalf of the people before the question and answer session.

The PKR MP also said that he tried to explain the matter to Pandikar, but was denied a chance.

The petition was to urge the authorities to scrap the inquest into the death of Karuna Nithi, since there was already medical evidence to prove that the victim was assaulted before he died.

It is also intended to compel the Home Ministry to take action against the police personnel involved in Karuna Nithi’s death.

“What power does the Speaker have to prevent the family of a victim who died in custody to bring up a petition?

“The Speaker is appointed by Umno. This is the height of Umno’s arrogance,” said Surendran, who is also a PKR vice president.

When Kota Bharu MP Takiyuddin Hassan appealed to Pandikar to reconsider his decision, Pandikar dismissed the matter.

Explaining his decision, Pandikar said that although Surendran is entitled to raise the petition before the question and answer session, he decided to strike it out after considering its merits.

“Surendran has submitted a formal letter to me beforehand, but after going through the content of the petition and considering the government’s views that an inquest is needed to establish the reason behind Karuna Nithii’s death, I decided not to allow it to be debated,” he said.

On how long Surendran will be barred from the House, Pandikar said he has yet to decide on the matter.