KUALA LUMPUR: Heated arguments broke out between lawmakers and Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia after he approved the motion to elevate Pas’ hudud bill today.
Teresa Kok (DAP-Seputeh) said the bill was placed last in the Parliament’s Order Paper and as such, there was no reason why it should be elevated ahead of others at the last minute.
The private member's Bill by Pas president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang is the 15th individual motion for the day.
Kok said the bill should also not be read when many MPs from Sabah and Sarawak are not present (leaders in Sabah and Sarawak have come out strongly against hudud).
“The bill will have a huge implication on the laws of the country and it should be consulted among our multi-racial society,” she said.
Pandikar said he fully understood how the Parliament Order Paper works and maintained that he only serves the interests of the Parliament without being politically biased.
He urged the lawmakers not to impose their own political viewpoints on parliament and instead work together with him to get things moving.
Chong Chieng Jen (DAP-Bandar Kuching) said the Speaker can exercise discretion in deciding which motion can be tabled but the matter is so important and sensitive that further consultation is necessary.
This drew flak from Pandikar, who said Chong's argument has nothing to do with Parliamentary procedure.
When Chong did not back down and called Pandikar’s reasoning "illogical", the Speaker said he will have to exercise Standing Order 44 on him and any other lawmakers who continued to make a ruckus.
"Your excuse is a political excuse and I don’t want to know that,” said Pandikar.
Under Standing Order 44, the Speaker can order lawmakers to be ejected from the Dewan.
When the voice vote was taken, Anthony Loke (DAP-Rasah) questioned why Pandikar allowed the motion to proceed as those who verbally said ‘no’ were greater than those who said ‘yes’.
Pandikar said loudness do not necessary indicate that the number of those who oppose it are greater, and said it is up to the chair to estimate which side had more members to facilitate Parliamentary order.
He said it could be that the side with lesser members had replied more vigorously or with a louder voice than the majority side.
The voice vote was then taken for a second time and produced the same result.
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