Refer Lim Kit Siang to the Rights and Privileges Committee


P Ramakrishnan
13 April 2010

Barisan MP for Pasir Salak Tajuddin Abdul Rahman had alleged in Parliament on 6 April 2010 that Lim Kit Siang had served as a political officer to former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

Tajuddin had also alleged that “a leader in Penang” was selling state secrets to Hong Kong and Singapore .

We can presume that he was referring to Lim Guan Eng, the Penang Chief Minister.

Kit Siang reacted by flatly stating, “This is not true, so he (Tajuddin) should be referred to the committee.”

Accordingly, Kit Siang moved a motion to refer Tajuddin to the Rights and Privileges Committee. But Tajuddin was adamant in his allegation and countered Kit Siang’s denial by claiming in the House, “I don’t like to lie or make slanderous statements with malicious intent. I am responsible for what I say.”

In responding to Kit Siang’s motion, Tajuddin took an uncompromising position. He stated, “If the House thinks I should be referred to the committee, no problem. I will take it. I’m prepared to face all the consequences. If you want to suspend me, go ahead but I believe in what I said.”

In this case, both of them could not be lying – but one of them definitely did. The question is: Who was lying?

When Kit Siang’s motion was put to the vote, it was defeated by 82 to 56 votes.

What was the implication of this voting?

Simply put, the Barisan Nasional MPs took a position that Tajuddin was telling the truth and that Kit Siang was lying. It meant that they did not believe Kit Siang’s denial that he did not serve as a political officer to Lee Kuan Yew. It meant that Tajuddin did not mislead the House but it was Kit Siang who was guilty of misleading.

This being the case, the BN MPs should refer Kit Siang to the Rights and Privileges Committee. They have no other course or choice except to compel the Rights and Privileges Committee to take action against Kit Siang for misleading the House. Failure to do so would imply that the BN dominated Parliament is trying to cover up a lie – worse still, it may be construed that Parliament is protecting a lie.

They must also take action to suspend Lim Guan Eng from Parliament because he has been accused of selling state secrets to foreign countries. This is a treasonable action and the person guilty of this conduct is a traitor to this nation. No traitor should be sitting in our Parliament.

The IGP, Tan Sri Musa Hassan, must give priority to investigating this serious allegation. He should drop all other cases and concentrate on this as a matter of urgency. The AG, Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, must start framing charges against Guan Eng at once. The hands of the IGP and the AG have been strengthened by Parliament’s voting.

Both of them should spring into action now that they have Parliament’s backing.

Obviously, Tajuddin has the evidence to back up his allegations. That’s why he didn’t mind being referred to the Rights and Privileges Committee. This case, therefore, should be wrapped up in a jiffy.

If Parliament fails to act, then Tajuddin must publicly make his allegations outside Parliament because he has the evidence. Remember what he said: “I don’t like to lie…” In other words, he was telling the truth and that he has the evidence to back up his accusation.

Under the circumstances, would Kit Siang or Guan Eng dare to sue him? Even if they did, Tajuddin should be able to provide the evidence in the court of law and fix them for good.

We cannot have a liar and a traitor smugly sitting in Parliament, making a mockery of our democratic process.

Parliament, Tajuddin, the IGP and the AG all owe it to the nation to act in the national interest.

They must not fail us.

  1. #1 by chengho on Wednesday, 14 April 2010 - 7:43 am

    we want the truth nothing but the truth….

  2. #2 by Jeffrey on Wednesday, 14 April 2010 - 8:10 am

    ///What was the implication of this voting?..Simply put, the Barisan Nasional MPs took a position that Tajuddin was telling the truth and that Kit Siang was lying… It meant that they did not believe Kit Siang’s denial that he did not serve as a political officer to Lee Kuan Yew. It meant that Tajuddin did not mislead the House but it was Kit Siang who was guilty of misleading/// – P Ramakrishnan (Aliran’s president).

    Come on lah, that’s not the implication of the voting. You’re talking of BN MPs’ beliefs. Do they have any – based on rational balance of considerations? They will vote on the side of any position their kind put forward. They are also bound by BN Party’s Whip.

    If Tajuddin were to say you were also a CIA or Republic of China’s spy or that you were the brains behind May 13 or anything else preposterous, they would also still use their 82 to 56 majority votes to send you to the Rights and Privileges Committee – in which again the BN has majority in numbers – to answer, and to incriminate and punish!

    Although Parliamentary immunity is guaranteed for whatever slander a member throws at another in the name of freedom of speech, this new tactic of getting someone from one’s majority camp to make spurious allegations of another member and create an excuse for the one falsely accused to be sent to the Rights and Privileges Committee in which again their majority there might incriminate the falsely accused further represents a new low even for BN MPs known for saying “pendatang” or “bochor”!

    What surprises me even more is P Ramakrishnan’s piece here – that he is actually trying to escalate Tajuddin’s spurious allegations. Ramakrishnan says one of you lying and instigates a show down outside parliament – (“We cannot have a liar and a traitor smugly sitting in Parliament, making a mockery of our democratic process…If Parliament fails to act, then Tajuddin must publicly make his allegations outside Parliament because he has the evidence…”, and you and Guan Eng can sue. One can say Ramakrishnan is saying all this tongue-in-cheek to satirically taunt Tajuddin but why does Ramakrishnan go further beyond (I quote): “They must also take action to suspend Lim Guan Eng from Parliament because he has been accused of selling state secrets to foreign countries. This is a treasonable action and the person guilty of this conduct is a traitor to this nation. No traitor should be sitting in our Parliament… The IGP, Tan Sri Musa Hassan, must give priority to investigating this serious allegation. He should drop all other cases and concentrate on this as a matter of urgency. The AG, Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, must start framing charges against Guan Eng at once. The hands of the IGP and the AG have been strengthened by Parliament’s voting. Both of them should spring into action now that they have Parliament’s backing…”
    If P Ramakrishnan thinks that Tajuddin’s allegations are spurious, and calculated as a “new tactic” to harass the Opposition, why waste everyone’s time by such a suggestion even if one assumes that it is aimed at irony, sarcasm, ridicule of Tajuddin? Unless P Ramakrishnan does allow for a chance or possibility, no matter how remote, that Tajuddin is right – to be accorded such attention by all concerned.

    It is therefore with disconcerting surprise and trepidation I read what is said here by the President of Aliran – a body supposedly dedicated to develop thinking and reflection on major social issues ranging from human rights to national unity from a non-sectarian, non-political spiritual perspective that emphasizes the universality of humankind.

  3. #3 by passerby on Wednesday, 14 April 2010 - 8:18 am

    If Tajuddin does not have the ball to say it outside the Parliament, then chengho should take up the challenge to say it in public or make a police report so that both Kit Siang and Guan Eng can answer the charge of libel in court.

    The ball ( pun is intended ) is in your court, chengho. Do it all Malaysians are eagerly waiting to see that actions are taken against any traitors!

  4. #4 by mata_kucing on Wednesday, 14 April 2010 - 8:29 am

    The BN had tried for many years to get LKS. Now is their chance to do it. Tajuddin must not fail his duty. There’s a Tan Sri waiting for him as well if he succeed. Do not fail your mission. Show everyone you have balls or else go wear a dress.

  5. #5 by Jeffrey on Wednesday, 14 April 2010 - 8:49 am

    The same pattern of putting things is seen P Ramakrishnan’s piece on “Why is Zulkifli off the hook” (The MalaysiaInsider, April. This concerns allegations of Zulkifili Noordin, the MP for Kulim Bandar Baru, who made stunning allegations and serious accusations in Parliament on 24 March 2010 against Anwar for trying to recruit him in a conspiracy to implicate the first family in the Altantuya’s case in a statutory declaration.

    Ramakrishnan uses irony when he sarcastically said that there was no discernable reaction of disbelief and horror from the implicated party, the police or even the accuser (Zulkifili Noordin) who had not made any police report to evince seriousness…”By remaining quiet all this while, he (Zulkifli) has given the impression that he was acquiescent to this criminal intention. It can be construed that he had aided and abetted this proposed crime. That being the case, can he then be charged as an accessory to this crime for not reporting the matter to the police? We hope that our legal luminaries, the police and those implicated in this case will provide the answers that the nation awaits anxiously”, Ramakrishnan added.

    As I read the situation – as favourably as I possibly can towards what he says – he is trying in each instance to challenge and instigate the accusers of Opposition members to resort to official police action on the premise that their failure or default to so act, on each occasion, will ironically expose their accusation as hollow and not serious or false…

    This kind of juxtapositioning of a challenge to accusers to take official action and recourse with the police in respect of every allegation against opposition leaders in order to expose falsity of the allegation by no action being seen taken is a dangerous strategy.

    It is so because it is tempting fate. It proceeds on what to me is an unacceptable and likely wrong premise that accusers will firstly not lodge reports (because their accusations are false), and that even if reports were indeed lodged police won’t take action (because the accusations are false) – and therefore P Ramakrishnan’s challenge has now proven successful to show through this indirect and oblique method of the accusers’ non action, the falsity of their accusations/claims.

    I say that this is dangerous method because things have vastly changed, those in power are very edgy of losing power in the next GE after outcome of the last one, and all kinds of dirty and underhand tactics of late have been intensified. What makes any one think that false accusations cannot be upheld and made to stick? Or that all apparatuses and organs of state cannot be marshalled to support these accusations to make the false calumnies like true facts? I need not cite examples: there just too many developments that show anything can be twisted for public consumption – so don’t tempt fate by these kind of challenges thrown at people who are confident that when they’re on the “right” political side there is power to make every false accusation right and stick!
    Ramakrishnan

  6. #6 by wanderer on Wednesday, 14 April 2010 - 9:15 am

    Eunuch chengho, mana ada bola?
    shoooooooooo! Hanjin.

  7. #7 by Bigjoe on Wednesday, 14 April 2010 - 9:20 am

    OK. I want to know how many LOL when they read the following:

    “I don’t like to lie or make slanderous statements with malicious intent. I am responsible for what I say.” – Tajuddin..

    You have to wonder whether its perversion, delusion or simply prodigality and over-indulgence. The man is a walking billboard of entitlement gone wrong and nature’s proof that man is made to struggle or it can go very very wrong.

  8. #8 by johnnypok on Wednesday, 14 April 2010 - 11:51 am

    “ACTION SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS”

    Only God knows whether he is telling the truth , but I think he is a liar and a dishonest ‘Wo-man’

  9. #9 by sheriff singh on Wednesday, 14 April 2010 - 12:04 pm

    Yes, yes, yes. Throw the Hansard, Standing Orders and the encyclopedias at Kit Siang. Let the truth be told.

    Lets find out who the real liar is.

  10. #10 by limkamput on Wednesday, 14 April 2010 - 2:07 pm

    so don’t tempt fate by these kind of challenges thrown at people who are confident that when they’re on the “right” political side there is power to make every false accusation right and stick!//Jeffrey

    So what are you suggesting, don’t do anything, take it with our head bowed? May be only the odd ball will do that.

  11. #11 by Jeffrey on Wednesday, 14 April 2010 - 3:32 pm

    ///So what are you suggesting, don’t do anything, take it with our head bowed? May be only the odd ball will do that./// – Lim Kam Put.

    That is not the point.

    He can challenge Tajuddin or to take up up the matter with police on an issue between Tajuddin or Zulkifili Noordin and himself. Thats Ok, P Ramakrishnan need not bow his head.

    But Ramakrishnan should not challenge and provoke Tajuddin to take up mater with police against THIRD PARTIES like Kit Siang Guan Eng – and in the other case provoke Zulkifili Noordin to lodge police report against Anwar (just to prove the point).

    If one like Ramakrishnan wishes to prove a point by throwing a challenge to another (whether Tajuddin or Zulkifli) make sure the fall out of police action (if it ever materialises) is on challenger Ramakrishnan himself and not THIRD PARTIES like Kit Siang/Guan Eng/Anwar who did noty instigate the challenge in the first place.

    Don’t throw a challenge which if one wins with the other backing down one gets the credit but if the challenge brings troubles harrassment from police and the works, the challenger himself does not feel the heat but THIRD PARTIES.

    Are these simple principles of fairness that one should be cavalier only with one’s own dime but not others money and at others expense that difficult to understand???? understand?

  12. #12 by TheWrathOfGrapes on Wednesday, 14 April 2010 - 5:38 pm

    chengho :
    we want the truth nothing but the truth….

    Can you handle the truth?

  13. #13 by johnnypok on Wednesday, 14 April 2010 - 6:42 pm

    If BN/UMNO can handle the truth without going amok, Malaysia can easily overtake Singapore. Of course this kind of dream will never come true. The most likely scenario is PR will kick BN/UMNO so hard that they cannot take it, and run amok.

  14. #14 by monsterball on Thursday, 15 April 2010 - 11:53 pm

    Lim Kam{Suck}Put {Ass}… thinks his balls are normal…proudly showing in his nick.
    Out of point…he is, Famous for showing off.
    He is the odd ball….a scumbag…change awhile..and back to his old self.
    I guess he is inspired by MCA results…with a sex man as President…and he suck asses.
    Same objectives…diffrent styles…hahahahhahahaha

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