KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 5 — On the last day of this year’s Parliament sitting, a motion was passed to refer Pasir Salak MP Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman to the Rights and Privileges Committee for insulting racial sensitivities and the Hindu religion.
The motion that was moved by Human Resource Minister M. Kulasegaran was passed when Deputy Speaker Nga Kor Ming called for an oral vote after a screaming match erupted in the Lower House mostly from opposition MPs.
The vote was called by Nga halfway through Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh’s debate, after the latter was constantly interrupted by the opposition MPs, namely by Mohd Shahar Abdullah (Paya Besar-BN), Tan Sri Noh Omar (Tanjong Karang-BN), Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim(Arau-BN) and Tajuddin himself.
“If the Opposition does not wish to participate in the debate, I will move on to votes.
“I want to give the opportunity to the opposition MPs to debate but they do not want to take part,” said Nga before calling an oral vote that received a resounding respond.
“More voices agree; the motion is passed through,” said Nga.
Even after the motion was passed, the opposition MPs continued berating Nga and accused him of being unfair. The deputy speaker was then forced to mute the microphones of the parliamentarians.
The motion, under the Dewan Rakyat Standing Orders 48, was tabled following Tajuddin’s remarks towards Jelutong MP RSN Rayer on Tuesday, where he questioned if the holy ashes on the latter’s forehead were that of late communist leader Chin Peng.
In the motion, Kula said the remark had, besides insulting the racial sensitivities and the Hindu religion, also smeared the prestige and reputation of the Dewan Rakyat.
Following the incident, House Speaker Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof suspended Tajuddin and Kota Melaka MP Khoo Poay Tiong each for two days.
The vote was the last motion to be passed by the Dewan Rakyat over 36-days in this year’s third sitting.
