Melaka lawmakers trade barbs on boars, insults over Tg Piai

MELAKA: Debate about Barisan Nasional's overwhelming Tanjung Piai win and reports of migratory Indonesian wild boars, degenerated into an exchange of insults and name-calling at the state assembly.

It started after Tey Kok Kiew (DAP-Bandar Hilir) challenged Idris Haron (BN-Sungai Udang) (pic) to vacate his seat after the latter told the House that Barisan's landslide by-election victory on Nov 16 shows Pakatan Harapan is unpopular among the people.

To this, Tey replied that Idris as the former Chief Minister had failed to address housing issues when he was in power and should now gauge his popularity by relinquishing his state seat to allow a by-election to be held at his Sungai Udang constituency.

An incensed Idris then demanded Tey and all the Pakatan Harapan state leaders to tender their resignations and call for a state election to see whether they can still retain the state government.

"We had a fair share of our own problems when managing housing issues in the state.

"But our administration then wasn't tainted with dumb excos and those detained under Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma)," Idris told the assembly.

Melaka Gadek assemblyman G. Saminathan was among suspects detained and charged under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) for alleged links with the outlawed Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

During the exchange, Idris also hit out at state Agriculture, Entrepreneur Development and Agro-based Committee chairman Norhizam Hassan Baktee for using the Malay honorary term "beliau" to refer to pigs.

Norhizam had used word "beliau" during an interview with a Bahasa Melayu news portal when addressing the issue of the wild boars.

"Look at the standard of our current excos, they even can't get description (about animal) right," he said during the debate.

Idris and Norhizam also traded barbs and words like "gila babi" and "bodoh" were exchanged during the debate.

Norhizam also stood up and asked why Idris had to drag him into the debate on housing.

He told the House his statement about the wild boars were based on information from local fishermen.

"Previously, the exco in charge of the agriculture portfolio wasn't aware about the reason for the high population of the wild boars in Melaka.

"I did my job, going down to the field to get to the bottom of what caused the population of the animal to increase," he told the assembly.

Norhizam said he has scientific evidence that wild boars migrated long distances including swimming across seas.

"I will produce these facts to the august House during the upcoming question and answer session on the wild boars," he said when met later at the foyer of the assembly.