Opposition walkout during Budget 2017 speech
FMT Reporters | October 21, 2016
Prime Minister Najib Razak and Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia urge MPs not interested in Budget 2017 to leave Dewan
KUALA LUMPUR: A majority of opposition lawmakers walked out during the tabling of the Budget 2017, after Prime Minister Najib Razak challenged them to do so.
“Those of you without any substance, you may leave the hall,” the prime minister said after he was heckled when he accused the opposition of creating drama.
Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia had earlier tried to get opposition lawmakers to sit and maintain decorum after some of them stood up, holding placards which read “Who is MO1?”.
However, following Najib’s challenge to the opposition lawmakers to leave, a clearly irate Pandikar gave the same directive, urging the disinterested lawmakers to leave the august house.
The opposition MPs held up the “Who is MO1?” placards, as it is an acronym for Malaysian Official One, a term which is found in the United States Department of Justice’s civil lawsuit against 1MDB.
Last year, opposition lawmakers had pulled a similar stunt, holding up placards that read, “Where is the RM2.6 billion” in reference to the sum that was allegedly banked into several of Najib’s private accounts.
The opposition walkout included MPs from DAP, PKR, Amanah, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia and Warisan.
Shortly after, Barisan Nasional Strategic Communications Director Abdul Rahman Dahlan tweeted: “The opposition is a disgrace to parliament. Walking out of budget presentation is absolutely childish and unbecoming of parliamentarians.”
