KUALA LUMPUR: The House erupted into a war of words over allegations of Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's involvement in an assault and attempted murder case.
It started when Gobind Singh Deo (DAP-Puchong) asked Ahmad Zahid whether he agreed that no action was taken against serious crime cases, such as death threats and attempted murder.
"People make reports but no action is seen to be taken. In fact, there are people who rise to the highest ranks in the police even though there were reports made against that person. And I am talking about you, minister," said Gobind when debating the motion of thanks for the Royal address.
This irked Datuk Abd Aziz Sheikh Fadzir (BN - Kulim Bandar Baharu), who said: "This is not court. This is Parliament", leading to several MPs to stand up and start debating among themselves.
Despite Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia's efforts to maintain order, the MPs continued with their fiery exchanges.
Ahmad Zahid said: "Puchong (Gobind) has personal interest (in making these claims) because he is the defence lawyer in the case." This led to more chaos.
Gobind was overheard telling Ahmad Zahid, "Answer the question. Did you threaten him? You tell me."
Ahmad Zahid explained that Gobind was alleging that there was a report made against him in 2006 but at that time, he was not the Home Minister.
"Because you have an interest as the defence lawyer, you are using this House to make accusations. This is not a criminal case but a civil case," he told Gobind, as both gentlemen pointed fingers at each other.
At one point, Ahmad Zahid said: "Between him (Gobind) and me, he is more of a kaki pukul (abuser) than me."
More MPs then tried to defend Ahmad Zahid, including Datuk Seri Noh Omar (BN - Tanjung Karang) who told Gobind that he had pecuniary interests in making the claims.
An irate Gobind then responded to Ahmad Zahid's "kaki pukul" statement by telling him, "if you are man enough, repeat that outside the Dewan. I will sue you."
The shouting match led Pandikar to hit the mallet and shout "Order! Order!"
The debates resumed when everybody calmed down.
It was reported that in a civil suit, former businessman Amir Bazli Abdullah claimed Ahmad Zahid had assaulted and threatened Ahmad Zahid who alleged that Amir Bazli had enticed his daughter and abducted her.
On a separate matter, Ahmad Zahid said a special squad from Bukit Aman was set up to combat illegal gambling following numerous complaints of gambling outlets mushrooming nationwide.
He said the squad would work independently and conduct raids at the respective states facing the problem.
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