P. Ramakrishnan
Aliran
23rd Oct 2015

The Speaker, the Deputy Speaker and the BN MPs took exception to Lim Kit Siang’s remarks which rightly criticised the lack of seriousness shown in the investigation of the 1MDB scandal.

Consequently, Kit Siang was unfairly suspended without the benefit of defending himself – which went against natural justice.

In all fairness, he should have been referred to the Rights and Privileges Committee under Standing Order 80 for it to probe and establish whether Kit Siang had indeed insulted the Speaker and Parliament. The manner that he was suspended reminded one of Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice, where a pound of flesh was insisted upon, come what may!

On 22 October 2015, Parliament was, as it were, baying for blood and it succeeded in its effort. As a result, Parliament has lost a voice that had always spoken with conviction and conscience, without fear or favour, to raise issues that reflect the concerns of the people. Much input into the budget debate has been denied – which is a pity.

The outcome of the motion that suspended Kit Siang from Parliament has been described, as we are made to understand, as the work of fools!

Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang tweeted: “You fools just gave Lim six months of holiday plus gaji buta.”

Who are these fools that he was referring to? There is no doubt about it – all those who played a role in suspending Kit Siang have been labelled as fools.

And who played this role? It was the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker and the BN MPs – 107 of them. All of them were the ones responsible for Kit Siang’s suspension. All of them have been called fools. What are they going to do about this scandalous reference to them?

Does Tan Keng Liang realise he also called his party president, Mah Siew Keong – if he had been present in Parliament and voted for the motion – a fool for supporting the motion? Malaysians are wondering whether he hit the nail on the head!

As for Kit Siang, it will not be “six months of holiday”, knowing him. He is never known to slow down or take things easy. That man is always on the move, always addressing issues that affect the nation, always commenting on the stupidity of policies and the senseless remarks of politicians that don’t benefit the ordinary rakyat. That voice will not be silenced.

Is he getting “gaji buta”? For heaven’s sake, “No.” That “gaji” was his legitimate due and well deserved. Does Keng Liang remember when Gobind Singh was suspended from Parliament without his allowance, it was the late great Karpal Singh who challenged this ruling and took this unjust matter to court and won the case. The court, in its wisdom, ruled that Gobind Singh was entitled to his allowance and he was paid, back-dated.

It wasn’t only Kit Siang but the people at large are also angry that so much effort had been put in ad nauseam to delay and obstruct the investigation into the 1MDB scandal. They are wondering why there is so much hindrance to keep this matter under wraps.

Like the Altantuya case, will the truth ever be known with regard to the 1MDB scandal?