NAME-CALLING, jeers and heckling, shouting, table thumping and the brandishing of the little blue book (Standing Orders) – that about summed up the first sitting of the House yesterday.
Chaos ruled during most of the one-and-a-half hours of question time, proving to be a baptism of fire for newly appointed Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia who kept his cool trying to maintain order in the House but failed rather miserably to get the MPs to listen.
The business of the House was delayed by a good 30 minutes when Karpal Singh (DAP – Bukit Gelugor) questioned the validity of the swearing-in ceremony of MPs on Monday.
Pandikar Amin had just formally announced Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PKR – Permatang Pauh) as the Opposition Leader when Karpal Singh interrupted to say the oath taking had not been “properly administered” by the House secretary.
“The matter of swearing in has been completed. There are more important matters to be discussed,” replied the Speaker.
This sparked a melee of objections and shouts of “point of order” from Opposition members. As more and more joined the fray, Pandikar Amin had to resort to using the claret and repeatedly reminding all present that the decision of the Chair must be respected.
“When the Tun Yang di-Pertua is speaking, nobody can talk.
“What have been raised are all trivial and technical issues while there are more important questions to be answered. I was just sworn in on Monday, please give me a chance,” he pleaded, only to be drowned out.
Many had expected a lively and heated debate with the number of MPs almost equally divided between backbenchers and opposition MPs but what transpired was beyond expectation.
When Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was finally allowed to reply to the first question, another row erupted after the Speaker decided not to allow any supplementary questions.
An angry Lim Kit Siang (DAP – Ipoh Timur) accused Pandikar Amin of “making a mockery” of the House. “This has never happened before in the history of the House. It is the right of MPs to ask supplementary questions,” he said.
Many more minutes were spent arguing until the Prime Minister, who had been observing the proceedings with a smile, intervened and said he would take “one or two supplementary questions”.
Pandikar Amin, at various junctures, appealed to the MPs to behave like “gentlemen and ladies” and get down to serious matters.
Said to be a combative and outspoken leader, Pandikar Amin, 53, who was made Speaker of the Sabah State Assembly for close to two years in 1986, held a press conference later in the day to warn MPs not to test his patience.
Tired of the unruly proceedings, several ministers and MPs left the chambers, some shaking their heads as they walked out. Some ministers expressed disappointment that Wednesday's Cabinet meeting had been postponed for the Parliament sitting and they had come prepared to answer questions but to no avail.
At noon, the House was still bogged down by technical interpretations of various points in the Standing Orders and house rules, and only three of the 73 questions tabled had been answered.
Azmin Ali (PKR – Gombak) wanted the Opposition to be allowed to ask more questions as they had more members (82) than the backbenchers (77).
The Government block was out in full force yesterday, with attendance from many senior ministers, including Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
The session was also televised live for the first time but the Information Ministry is now reviewing this, as some MPs are taking the opportunity to play to the gallery.
The situation got back to normal 10 minutes after noon when Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting (BN – Kulai) finally delivered the motion of thanks on the Royal Address. Even then, he was not spared by the Opposition.
His right to table to motion of thanks was raised over a technicality. When tabling the motion of thanks, Ong was constantly interrupted by those who “minta jalan”, including Karpal Singh, Ngeh Koo Ham (DAP – Beruas), Dr Lee Boon Chye (PKR – Gopeng), and Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim (PKR – Bandar Tun Razak).
It was only after lunch that the Dewan returned to its usual humdrum of debate.
Razali Ibrahim (BN – Muar) was trying to ask the first question of the sitting when Karpal Singh intervened on a point of order, prompting Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin (BN – Kinabatangan) to stand up and interject.
When Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia allowed the latter to intervene, Karpal Singh said he hoped that the “bigfoot from Kinabatangan won’t disturb me”.
“You-lah, big monkey,” Bung Mokhtar retorted loudly.
Pandikar Amin then ticked off both MPs, telling them to stop this line of argument.
The DAP leader later pointed out that although Ibrahim had contested and won in the last general election on a PAS ticket, he was in the Dewan as an “independent candidate”.
“Can we know his exact position in the Dewan?” he asked the Chair.
The Speaker then told Karpal Singh off, saying that such trivial points should not be raised, to which the DAP leader shouted: “Ini bukan remeh (this is not trivial)!”
Pandikar Amin then responded: “Where Yang Berhormat sits depends on the discretion of the House. This is within my jurisdiction. If it has been decided that the YB should sit there, then there he should sit,” he said to loud cheers from the backbenchers.
Ibrahim irked the Opposition MPs when he teased wheelchair-bound Karpal Singh for “not respecting the House” by not standing up when speaking.
This riled Fong Po Kuan (DAP – Batu Gajah), who demanded that Ibrahim retract his statement but he merely told her to “shut up”.
“Retract it. You cannot insult a disabled person. I ask Pasir Mas to retract his words,” said Fong.
To this, Ibrahim said: “I usik-usik (tease) a little bit, sudah melenting (you're are throwing a tantrum).”
“Apa usik-usik?” she asked.
“Shut up!” he shouted.
Pandikar, who had the unenviable task of keeping the House in control, told MPs that he should not be reminding them again and again to refrain from using unparliamentary words.
Ibrahim, however, argued that there was nothing unparliamentary about his choice of words.
“I said ‘shut up’. In Bahasa, it is 'diam'. All this is because everybody wants to be on TV during the half hour,” he said, referring to the 30-minute live telecast of the parliamentary sitting.
PARLIAMENT has never been so “happening” as in the past few days. The lobby has been throbbing with life and activity. The corridors have been filled with MPs, the media, political aides and the public.
Various NGOs have also jumped into the fray, arriving with placards promoting their causes. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi sportingly accepted a placard bearing the slogan “Kotakan Kata” (keep your promises) from a gender-equality group.
Another group came with placards calling for the abolition of the ISA.
Forget about finding a place to sit unless one does not mind the floor. People crowded around the TV sets showing the proceedings in the House. The public gallery was so packed that more TVs had to be set up in an adjacent area where many just made themselves comfortable on the carpeted floor.
Even seasoned Parliament reporters admitted they had never seen anything like this in all their years covering parliamentary proceedings. Only the crowds that turn up during the annual tabling of the Budget come close to what they are experiencing the last few days.
Kulim Bandar Baru MP Zulkifli Noordin made a smart choice coming on his big bike because every inch of parking space was taken up. Cars were parked all the way to the main entrance.
Tony Pua (PJ Utara) was spotted making his way to Parliament from the security checkpoint where he had left his car, looking very smart in his suit and tie, but with a knapsack on his back.
And that is the other new thing about the new Parliament. Many of the newer MPs have broken the stereotypical mould of wakil rakyat.
Not only do they blog, but the usual leather briefcases have given way to more functional and trendy shoulder bags and knapsacks.
Lim Guan Eng (Bagan) carried a sleek aluminium briefcase. Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin (Kinabatangan) may have been hopping mad at being labelled the “bigfoot of Kinabatangan” by Karpal Singh (Bukit Gelugor) but he strode in with a Louis Vuitton sling bag.
One also does not need a fancy car to become an MP. Teo Nie Chin (Serdang) came in a sunny yellow Kelisa.
Yesterday's maiden debate was an indicator of what is to come in the week ahead. It is going to be a closely-matched face-off between Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat.
In fact, Pakatan Rakyat has a slight edge in terms of numbers – 82 MPs against 77 backbenchers from the Barisan side.
Everyone was keen to make an impact yesterday, especially when the cameras were rolling for the special 30-minute live telecast on RTM, so much so that there was much calling on the Chair for “point of order” during the more chaotic moments.
In fact, “point of order” was the most frequently-used phrase yesterday.
The newer and younger faces will be the most closely watched.
When Chong Chieng Jen (Bandar Kuching) pointed out that a question from a Barisan MP had contravened the House rules because it exceeded 40 words, Khairy Jamaluddin (Rembau) was quick to point out that a question submitted by Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (Permatang Pauh) had also exceeded the word limit.
Everyone will have to be on his toes.
But the MP who made everyone sit up and take note was Azmin Ali (Gombak). The PKR vice-president had presence, carried himself with composure and was polite. And he made a good point about the lop-sided number of questions that the Speaker had allocated to both benches.
Outside the House, there seemed to be a press conference or door-stop interview going on at every corner with many of those being interviewed coming from the Opposition bench. The public is intensely curious about this huge influx of Pakatan Rakayt MPs and the reporters know what their readers want.
“The Opposition MPs have different perspectives and quite original things to say about things,” said one reporter.
Even the wives and girlfriends who came on Tuesday attracted media attention.
Meanwhile, there was constant talk of the dawn of a new politics in the country.
But as one senior editor who has been avidly watching developments in Parliament pointed out, much of what he saw at the House was still very reminiscent of old politics.
“All that shouting at each other, the name calling and playing to the gallery – that is not new politics,” he said.
The business of Parliament was not apparent yesterday. Instead, it seemed like politics as usual and that, said the editor, was quite disappointing.
But yesterday was just the first day of debate so our Yang Berhormats have lots of time to prove that they are worthy of the votes that ushered them into Parliament.
Chaos ruled during most of the one-and-a-half hours of question time, proving to be a baptism of fire for newly appointed Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia who kept his cool trying to maintain order in the House but failed rather miserably to get the MPs to listen.
The business of the House was delayed by a good 30 minutes when Karpal Singh (DAP – Bukit Gelugor) questioned the validity of the swearing-in ceremony of MPs on Monday.
Pandikar Amin had just formally announced Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PKR – Permatang Pauh) as the Opposition Leader when Karpal Singh interrupted to say the oath taking had not been “properly administered” by the House secretary.
“The matter of swearing in has been completed. There are more important matters to be discussed,” replied the Speaker.
This sparked a melee of objections and shouts of “point of order” from Opposition members. As more and more joined the fray, Pandikar Amin had to resort to using the claret and repeatedly reminding all present that the decision of the Chair must be respected.
“When the Tun Yang di-Pertua is speaking, nobody can talk.
“What have been raised are all trivial and technical issues while there are more important questions to be answered. I was just sworn in on Monday, please give me a chance,” he pleaded, only to be drowned out.
Many had expected a lively and heated debate with the number of MPs almost equally divided between backbenchers and opposition MPs but what transpired was beyond expectation.
When Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was finally allowed to reply to the first question, another row erupted after the Speaker decided not to allow any supplementary questions.
An angry Lim Kit Siang (DAP – Ipoh Timur) accused Pandikar Amin of “making a mockery” of the House. “This has never happened before in the history of the House. It is the right of MPs to ask supplementary questions,” he said.
Many more minutes were spent arguing until the Prime Minister, who had been observing the proceedings with a smile, intervened and said he would take “one or two supplementary questions”.
Pandikar Amin, at various junctures, appealed to the MPs to behave like “gentlemen and ladies” and get down to serious matters.
Said to be a combative and outspoken leader, Pandikar Amin, 53, who was made Speaker of the Sabah State Assembly for close to two years in 1986, held a press conference later in the day to warn MPs not to test his patience.
Tired of the unruly proceedings, several ministers and MPs left the chambers, some shaking their heads as they walked out. Some ministers expressed disappointment that Wednesday's Cabinet meeting had been postponed for the Parliament sitting and they had come prepared to answer questions but to no avail.
At noon, the House was still bogged down by technical interpretations of various points in the Standing Orders and house rules, and only three of the 73 questions tabled had been answered.
Azmin Ali (PKR – Gombak) wanted the Opposition to be allowed to ask more questions as they had more members (82) than the backbenchers (77).
The Government block was out in full force yesterday, with attendance from many senior ministers, including Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
The session was also televised live for the first time but the Information Ministry is now reviewing this, as some MPs are taking the opportunity to play to the gallery.
The situation got back to normal 10 minutes after noon when Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting (BN – Kulai) finally delivered the motion of thanks on the Royal Address. Even then, he was not spared by the Opposition.
His right to table to motion of thanks was raised over a technicality. When tabling the motion of thanks, Ong was constantly interrupted by those who “minta jalan”, including Karpal Singh, Ngeh Koo Ham (DAP – Beruas), Dr Lee Boon Chye (PKR – Gopeng), and Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim (PKR – Bandar Tun Razak).
It was only after lunch that the Dewan returned to its usual humdrum of debate.
THE Dewan turned into a “zoo” after the seating position of Datuk Ibrahim Ali (Ind – Pasir Mas) became a bone of contention between the Speaker and the Opposition.
Razali Ibrahim (BN – Muar) was trying to ask the first question of the sitting when Karpal Singh intervened on a point of order, prompting Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin (BN – Kinabatangan) to stand up and interject.
When Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia allowed the latter to intervene, Karpal Singh said he hoped that the “bigfoot from Kinabatangan won’t disturb me”.
“You-lah, big monkey,” Bung Mokhtar retorted loudly.
Pandikar Amin then ticked off both MPs, telling them to stop this line of argument.
The DAP leader later pointed out that although Ibrahim had contested and won in the last general election on a PAS ticket, he was in the Dewan as an “independent candidate”.
“Can we know his exact position in the Dewan?” he asked the Chair.
The Speaker then told Karpal Singh off, saying that such trivial points should not be raised, to which the DAP leader shouted: “Ini bukan remeh (this is not trivial)!”
Pandikar Amin then responded: “Where Yang Berhormat sits depends on the discretion of the House. This is within my jurisdiction. If it has been decided that the YB should sit there, then there he should sit,” he said to loud cheers from the backbenchers.
Ibrahim irked the Opposition MPs when he teased wheelchair-bound Karpal Singh for “not respecting the House” by not standing up when speaking.
This riled Fong Po Kuan (DAP – Batu Gajah), who demanded that Ibrahim retract his statement but he merely told her to “shut up”.
“Retract it. You cannot insult a disabled person. I ask Pasir Mas to retract his words,” said Fong.
To this, Ibrahim said: “I usik-usik (tease) a little bit, sudah melenting (you're are throwing a tantrum).”
“Apa usik-usik?” she asked.
“Shut up!” he shouted.
Pandikar, who had the unenviable task of keeping the House in control, told MPs that he should not be reminding them again and again to refrain from using unparliamentary words.
Ibrahim, however, argued that there was nothing unparliamentary about his choice of words.
“I said ‘shut up’. In Bahasa, it is 'diam'. All this is because everybody wants to be on TV during the half hour,” he said, referring to the 30-minute live telecast of the parliamentary sitting.
PARLIAMENT has never been so “happening” as in the past few days. The lobby has been throbbing with life and activity. The corridors have been filled with MPs, the media, political aides and the public.
Various NGOs have also jumped into the fray, arriving with placards promoting their causes. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi sportingly accepted a placard bearing the slogan “Kotakan Kata” (keep your promises) from a gender-equality group.
Another group came with placards calling for the abolition of the ISA.
Forget about finding a place to sit unless one does not mind the floor. People crowded around the TV sets showing the proceedings in the House. The public gallery was so packed that more TVs had to be set up in an adjacent area where many just made themselves comfortable on the carpeted floor.
Even seasoned Parliament reporters admitted they had never seen anything like this in all their years covering parliamentary proceedings. Only the crowds that turn up during the annual tabling of the Budget come close to what they are experiencing the last few days.
Kulim Bandar Baru MP Zulkifli Noordin made a smart choice coming on his big bike because every inch of parking space was taken up. Cars were parked all the way to the main entrance.
Tony Pua (PJ Utara) was spotted making his way to Parliament from the security checkpoint where he had left his car, looking very smart in his suit and tie, but with a knapsack on his back.
And that is the other new thing about the new Parliament. Many of the newer MPs have broken the stereotypical mould of wakil rakyat.
Not only do they blog, but the usual leather briefcases have given way to more functional and trendy shoulder bags and knapsacks.
Lim Guan Eng (Bagan) carried a sleek aluminium briefcase. Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin (Kinabatangan) may have been hopping mad at being labelled the “bigfoot of Kinabatangan” by Karpal Singh (Bukit Gelugor) but he strode in with a Louis Vuitton sling bag.
One also does not need a fancy car to become an MP. Teo Nie Chin (Serdang) came in a sunny yellow Kelisa.
Yesterday's maiden debate was an indicator of what is to come in the week ahead. It is going to be a closely-matched face-off between Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat.
In fact, Pakatan Rakyat has a slight edge in terms of numbers – 82 MPs against 77 backbenchers from the Barisan side.
Everyone was keen to make an impact yesterday, especially when the cameras were rolling for the special 30-minute live telecast on RTM, so much so that there was much calling on the Chair for “point of order” during the more chaotic moments.
In fact, “point of order” was the most frequently-used phrase yesterday.
The newer and younger faces will be the most closely watched.
When Chong Chieng Jen (Bandar Kuching) pointed out that a question from a Barisan MP had contravened the House rules because it exceeded 40 words, Khairy Jamaluddin (Rembau) was quick to point out that a question submitted by Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (Permatang Pauh) had also exceeded the word limit.
Everyone will have to be on his toes.
But the MP who made everyone sit up and take note was Azmin Ali (Gombak). The PKR vice-president had presence, carried himself with composure and was polite. And he made a good point about the lop-sided number of questions that the Speaker had allocated to both benches.
Outside the House, there seemed to be a press conference or door-stop interview going on at every corner with many of those being interviewed coming from the Opposition bench. The public is intensely curious about this huge influx of Pakatan Rakayt MPs and the reporters know what their readers want.
“The Opposition MPs have different perspectives and quite original things to say about things,” said one reporter.
Even the wives and girlfriends who came on Tuesday attracted media attention.
Meanwhile, there was constant talk of the dawn of a new politics in the country.
But as one senior editor who has been avidly watching developments in Parliament pointed out, much of what he saw at the House was still very reminiscent of old politics.
“All that shouting at each other, the name calling and playing to the gallery – that is not new politics,” he said.
The business of Parliament was not apparent yesterday. Instead, it seemed like politics as usual and that, said the editor, was quite disappointing.
But yesterday was just the first day of debate so our Yang Berhormats have lots of time to prove that they are worthy of the votes that ushered them into Parliament.
