KUALA LUMPUR, July 16 (Bernama) -- The mass walkout by Opposition MPs from Barisan Nasional and PAS to protest the new Dewan Rakyat Speaker today was a mere publicity stunt, said MPs from the ruling political parties.
Seremban MP Anthony Loke Siew Fook (pic, left) said the walkout by almost all opposition MPs this morning was play-acting to seek publicity from the media.
“They (the opposition) boycotted the proclamation ceremony (of the Speaker), but they came back in for the swearing in.
“To me, it was just an act to grab the media's attention,” he told the press at the Parliament lobby here today (July 16).
MPs from BN and PAS walked out of Parliament this morning in protest over the appointment of former Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof as the new Dewan Rakyat Speaker.
Only Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin and Kimanis MP Datuk Seri Anifah Aman remained in the hall.
However, after Mohamad Ariff was proclaimed as the ninth Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, all the opposition MPs who had walked out of the hall re-entered to take their oath.
Meanwhile, Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Eddin Syazlee Shith (pic, right), who is also Kuala Pilah MP, said he was not surprised by the opposition questioning the appointment of Mohamad Ariff.
“Take note that the Dewan Rakyat secretary Datuk Seri Rosmee Hamzah already explained that the nomination letter was dated July 2, 2018, that is exactly 14 days including today.
“The opposition did not send any nomination notice of their candidates, I see this just as an agenda to kill time,” he said.
Meanwhile, Pulai MP Salahuddin Ayub, who is also the Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister regarded the protest as a display of the colours of democracy in the country.
“It is their democratic right whether to walk out or enter (the hall) as long as it does not violate the parliamentary rules and does not harm the country.
“Let them show their dissatisfaction, I think it is normal, nothing special or strange about that,” he said.
Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin, who is Housing and Local Government Minister, said the opposition MPs should not have acted in that way as the government had followed procedure in appointing the Speaker. -- BERNAMA
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