By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani
KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 — Parliament was forced to temporarily adjourn proceedings this evening when Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers began chanting “Umno APCO”, after the Speaker disciplined one of their colleagues for linking a bill being debated to the public relations firm.
Pokok Sena MP Mahfuz Omar (picture), who is from PAS, had attempted to rile up Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs during bloc voting for the Supplementary Supply Bill, by starting the “Umno APCO” chant.
“For loyalty of King and country, we must reject the Bill by APCO. APCO! APCO! APCO!” Mahfuz said.
His PR colleagues then followed suit with chants of “Umno APCO.”
APCO Worldwide, the public relations consultancy engaged by the Najib administration, has been the target of attacks on the government by the opposition who claimed that the company had also advised the Israeli government.
Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has been referred to the Parliamentary Rights and Privileges Committee and faces suspension for bringing up the allegation that APCO had Israeli links.
Earlier today, DAP’s Karpal Singh was also ejected from Parliament in a separate row over APCO.
Anwar will now be joined by Mahfuz, who will also be referred to the same panel for possible disciplinary action.
Amid the racket of noise created by opposition MPs the vote on the Bill was completed.
But after the counting was over, Umno’s Kuala Krau MP Datuk Ismail Said stood up and interjected.
“Pokok Sena has wrongly accused Umno of being APCO. I want Pokok Sena to retract his statement based on standing order 36 (12),” he said.
Teluk Intan MP M. Manogaran and Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad also took jabs at Umno during the commotion.
“The winner is APCO,” said Manogaran.
“Who is this APCO representative?” Khalid added referring to Ismail.
Ismail stressed that action must be taken against Mahfuz.
“Pokok Sena has repeatedly said that Umno is APCO. There is bad intention in his accusation and he has misled Parliament,” he said.
Deputy Speaker Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar agreed to Ismail’s motion and called for voice voting.
When the motion was overwhelmingly approved by the majority BN MPs, PR lawmakers stood up and continued their tirade against the deputy Speaker.
“Umno is using APCO so what is the problem?” DAP’s Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching asked.
Wan Junaidi explained that Mahfuz was referred to the Rights and Privileges Committee under Standing Order 26 (1) (P) which allows a motion against any member to be tabled immediately without prior notice as it refers to the rights and privileges of the House.
Khalid shot back and pointed out that Ismail had used a different standing order previously.
Wan Junaidi replied that Ismail had used the wrong standing order and the standing order was adjusted.
PR lawmakers then reacted angrily to the reason given and said that the Speaker did not have the right to do so.
“APCO is not something bad. Umno paid RM28 million to APCO. APCO is not a bad word, what is there to be ashamed of? They are proud because they are APCO. They pay! They pay!” Khalid interrupted.
“We cannot behave in a civilised manner. If he is not wrong then the special committee will not punish him. I believe the chairman of the committee will have the common understanding that we can accept,” Wan Junaidi replied.
However, PR MPs still refused to listen to Wan Junaidi and he was forced to adjourn proceedings for 15 minutes.
When proceedings resumed, PR MPs continued to argue with the deputy Speaker.
“If you are not satisfied then you can leave. I cannot control your childish attitudes,” said Wan Junaidi.
The deputy Speaker’s comment enraged PR lawmakers further.
Wan Junaidi replied that he would not change his position but asked PR MPs to submit a motion on Standing Order 43.
The standing order allows any members to approve a private motion to dispute the Speaker’s rulings.
After 45 minutes of heated debate, Wan Junaidi decided to adjourn the proceeding until tomorrow because he felt the opposition MPs were trying to ridicule him.
Wan Junaidi told reporters later that he was forced to adjourn proceedings.
“That is the Parliament’s decision. I don’t have the authority to reverse what the house has already agreed (on Mahfuz being referred to the Parliamentary Rights and Privileges Committee). When the members become unruly and we cannot control it then Parliament is already paralysed. So I had no choice because it will continue to be like that. So the best course of action is adjourning the house,” he said.
KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 — Parliament was forced to temporarily adjourn proceedings this evening when Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers began chanting “Umno APCO”, after the Speaker disciplined one of their colleagues for linking a bill being debated to the public relations firm.
Pokok Sena MP Mahfuz Omar (picture), who is from PAS, had attempted to rile up Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs during bloc voting for the Supplementary Supply Bill, by starting the “Umno APCO” chant.
“For loyalty of King and country, we must reject the Bill by APCO. APCO! APCO! APCO!” Mahfuz said.
His PR colleagues then followed suit with chants of “Umno APCO.”
APCO Worldwide, the public relations consultancy engaged by the Najib administration, has been the target of attacks on the government by the opposition who claimed that the company had also advised the Israeli government.
Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has been referred to the Parliamentary Rights and Privileges Committee and faces suspension for bringing up the allegation that APCO had Israeli links.
Earlier today, DAP’s Karpal Singh was also ejected from Parliament in a separate row over APCO.
Anwar will now be joined by Mahfuz, who will also be referred to the same panel for possible disciplinary action.
Amid the racket of noise created by opposition MPs the vote on the Bill was completed.
But after the counting was over, Umno’s Kuala Krau MP Datuk Ismail Said stood up and interjected.
“Pokok Sena has wrongly accused Umno of being APCO. I want Pokok Sena to retract his statement based on standing order 36 (12),” he said.
Teluk Intan MP M. Manogaran and Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad also took jabs at Umno during the commotion.
“The winner is APCO,” said Manogaran.
“Who is this APCO representative?” Khalid added referring to Ismail.
Ismail stressed that action must be taken against Mahfuz.
“Pokok Sena has repeatedly said that Umno is APCO. There is bad intention in his accusation and he has misled Parliament,” he said.
Deputy Speaker Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar agreed to Ismail’s motion and called for voice voting.
When the motion was overwhelmingly approved by the majority BN MPs, PR lawmakers stood up and continued their tirade against the deputy Speaker.
“Umno is using APCO so what is the problem?” DAP’s Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching asked.
Wan Junaidi explained that Mahfuz was referred to the Rights and Privileges Committee under Standing Order 26 (1) (P) which allows a motion against any member to be tabled immediately without prior notice as it refers to the rights and privileges of the House.
Khalid shot back and pointed out that Ismail had used a different standing order previously.
Wan Junaidi replied that Ismail had used the wrong standing order and the standing order was adjusted.
PR lawmakers then reacted angrily to the reason given and said that the Speaker did not have the right to do so.
“APCO is not something bad. Umno paid RM28 million to APCO. APCO is not a bad word, what is there to be ashamed of? They are proud because they are APCO. They pay! They pay!” Khalid interrupted.
“We cannot behave in a civilised manner. If he is not wrong then the special committee will not punish him. I believe the chairman of the committee will have the common understanding that we can accept,” Wan Junaidi replied.
However, PR MPs still refused to listen to Wan Junaidi and he was forced to adjourn proceedings for 15 minutes.
When proceedings resumed, PR MPs continued to argue with the deputy Speaker.
“If you are not satisfied then you can leave. I cannot control your childish attitudes,” said Wan Junaidi.
The deputy Speaker’s comment enraged PR lawmakers further.
Wan Junaidi replied that he would not change his position but asked PR MPs to submit a motion on Standing Order 43.
The standing order allows any members to approve a private motion to dispute the Speaker’s rulings.
After 45 minutes of heated debate, Wan Junaidi decided to adjourn the proceeding until tomorrow because he felt the opposition MPs were trying to ridicule him.
Wan Junaidi told reporters later that he was forced to adjourn proceedings.
“That is the Parliament’s decision. I don’t have the authority to reverse what the house has already agreed (on Mahfuz being referred to the Parliamentary Rights and Privileges Committee). When the members become unruly and we cannot control it then Parliament is already paralysed. So I had no choice because it will continue to be like that. So the best course of action is adjourning the house,” he said.
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