KUALA LUMPUR – The Dewan Rakyat saw yet another shouting match as lawmakers across the aisle traded barbs after Datuk Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh (Pasir Puteh-PN) accused the government of being “immune” to the country’s laws.
The PAS man hurled the allegation during his debate on the mid-term review of the 12th Malaysia Plan, claiming that government representatives whose acts “hack away” at public peace and harmony are allowed to get off scot-free.
“There is one party that is immune to our country’s laws – the government itself.
“If it is a regular citizen, action is swiftly taken, but if the government acts in a way that disrupts the harmony in our nation and affects our economy, development and the peace among our multiracial society… this is unacceptable,” Nik Zawawi said.
In response, R.S.N Rayer (Jelutong-PH) questioned the PAS parliamentarian on his thoughts about supposedly racial and religious statements issued by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad when the former prime minister was on the campaign trail for Perikatan Nasional (PN) during the Pulai by-election.
“What about PN’s decision to invite (Dr Mahathir) to give a speech in Pulai, where (Dr Mahathir) made comments referring to (non-Malays as) ‘pendatang’ (immigrants) and called for the abolishment of vernacular schools?
“Will these (statements by Dr Mahathir) not threaten national harmony?” Rayer questioned.
Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham (Beruas-PH) also chimed in to press Nik Zawawi to provide an example of when the government appeared to be immune to laws, refusing to sit down even though the PAS man attempted to speak over his question.
“Beruas (Ngeh), sit down. You’re not being rational,” the opposition backbencher said, causing Ngeh to repeat his question multiple times before Deputy Speaker Alice Lau (Lanang-PH) ordered him to take his seat for Nik Zawawi to address his query.
At this point, Nik Zawawi pointed to the discharge not amounting to an acquittal granted to Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (Bagan Datuk-BN) for all the deputy prime minister’s 47 charges of corruption, money laundering and criminal breach of trust.
The answer was seemingly not to Ngeh’s liking as the duo continued to shout over each other for about two minutes before Lau called the lower House to order.
Last Monday, Zahid, who also heads Barisan Nasional, was granted the discharge by the high court after the prosecution decided to halt the trial as it wanted to investigate the case further. — September 13, 2023