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Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Tempers flare over 'don't bribe separatists' tweet


The special parliamentary sitting called by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak on the MAS Flight MH17 incident is currently in session.

[More to follow]

1pm: Parliament now adjourns for lunch and will resume at 2.30pm.

Later, the government will wrap up by answering questions raised by MPs, who have debated the motion.

There are still over half of the debaters' list left to be exhausted. Each MP will be given 10 minutes each to debate after the break.

12.55pm: DAP MPs Charles Santiago and M Kulasegaran raise the issue of Malaysia ratifying the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Malaysia is not a member state of ICC, and Kulasegaran asks if Malaysia missed an opportunity to bring the MH17 issue to the ICC.

The issue of ICC ratification was brought up by Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar.

12.20pm: Pandemonium erupts in the House after Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Wee Ka Siong accuses PKR's Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli of posting a tweet which warned the government "not to use people's money to bribe separatists".

Rafizi and Pakatan Rakyat MPs are enraged by the accusation.

Rafizi says the tweet was fake and he was already planning to lodge a police report on the matter.

Wee refuses to apologise and declines to retract his accusation, escalating the tension.

In his speech, Wee continuously takes jibes at opposition members for "trying to find fault" with MAS and the government's conduct in light of the tragedy.

He criticises Tanjong MP Ng Wei Aik for "not advising his partner", referring to a tweet by Ng's wife Yuki Tan criticising Malaysia.

Wee also trains his guns on DAP's Taiping MP Nga Kor Ming for questioning the air route.

Infuriated, Pakatan members press deputy speaker Ronald Kiandee to demand the MCA deputy president to retract the remark.

The deputy speaker, however, refuses to order Wee to retract the remark, saying Rafizi's explanation has already been recorded.

Mahfuz: Don't fly over conflict zones

12.05pm: Mahfuz says the government must not rely on other airlines and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in allowing MAS and AirAsia to use the airspace of strife-torn countries like Syria.

He says a re-evaluation is important to ensure that an incident like MH17 does not recur.

"Do we need to rely on the ICAO to determine whether the route is safe or not although we know that the area is a conflict zone?

"A re-evaluation must be done. Wisma Putra or the embassy must give a full report on whether the particular airspace is safe or not.

"For example, the KL-London route sees flights going over Syria. I hope the government can look into the matter to ensure the safety of our planes."

'Postpone payment for Russian jets'

11.35am: Lim also urges the government to use whatever influence it has to place the necessary pressure in getting to the truth of what had happened to MH17.
                      
Although Malaysia's economic influence is not as significant compared to the US and other European countries, he says the country still has relevant economic relations with Russia.

"Malaysia bought 18 Sukhoi Su-30MKM fighter jets worth USD900 million in August 2003.

"If Malaysia has not settled the full payment for these jets, we should postpone the payment, if necessary.

"Malaysia should also be ready to cancel the second Angkasawan programme which was part of the fighter jets purchase if we think that Russia will not give its full cooperation to the international as well as Malaysian community.

"Also, as proposed by the international community, we should consider joining the boycott against Russia."

12pm: PAS' Pokok Sena MP Mahfuz Omar stands up to express his condolences and sympathy on the tragedy on behalf of PAS, saying that Malaysia needs to ensure that aviation tragedies do not become a "series" in the country.

"We need to identify and rectify our weakness so that these things do not repeat."

The PAS information chief says that MH17 has become a victim of superpowers "exercising their influence and powers."

However, he spends more time talking about the MH370 flight, asking the government to clarify the status of investigation as there is a need to know what actually happened to the plane.

Guan Eng: 'Quiet diplomacy' the right approach

11.30am: DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, who is the Bagan MP, also agrees that "quiet diplomacy" was the right approach to ensure the remains and the black boxes can be secured.

"These might have breached diplomatic protocol, but it is something that is well worth it.

"The Ukraine government clearly has no effective control over the region, and PM has taken the risk to negotiate with someone who has not been recognised at all. The prime minister has our full support in this matter."

Lim also says that he will stick to flying MAS despite the tragedy.

"Showing solidarity for MAS in these trying times is not limited to giving speech and words of encouragement alone.

"We would like stress here that we will continue flying with MAS, if time allows it."

He also describes those who shot down the plane as "animals in human masks."

Lim also seems to be leaning towards the accusation that the separatists shot down the plane en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

"Why would Ukraine military shoot down the plane when they know that the separatists do not have fighter jets?

"That leaves us with one scenario- that the separatists were somehow responsible for this act."

He says that Malaysia has to emulate the Brazilian and German governments which sent back its US ambassadors following revelations that the US spied on the two countries.

"We must not hesitate to call the Russia and Ukraine ambassadors to Wisma Putra. And while we are at it, we could also call the US ambassador to express our dissatisfaction with what is happening in Gaza."

Lim also stresses on the importance of confirming the allegation that Russia had supplied heavy weapons and artillery to the East Ukrainian separatists.

"We must confirm whether Russia sent its troops or its agents to help the separatists. We must also confirm whether Russia was responsible in helping them launch the missile."

Anwar: Controversial but the right approach

11am: Anwar throws his weight behind Najib, agreeing that negotiating with the separatists was necessary.

His show of support for the prime minister is lauded by other MPs, who tap on their tables.

He says although Najib's action in contacting the separatist leader (Alexander Borodai) courted controversy, he supports the prime minister’s decision since "a responsible leader must safeguard the rakyat’s interests first".

"To get things done, there is no easy way out, so we have to negotiate with the separatists who are controlling the region."

Anwar also urges the government not to be afraid in dealing with superpowers.

"In facing this problem, I urge the government to ensure that the superpowers do not protect the real criminals."

"I also express my condolences to the PM as he has also lost his step-grandmother in the incident."

Anwar also asks if the issue of Gaza can be incorporated as an "integral" part of the debate today.

He says that Gaza is being "colonialised" by Israel.

10.50am: Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Shahidan Kassim moves that the House will not adjourn until the PM's motion is fully debated and passed.

This was after Natural Resources and Environment Minister G Palanivel seconded Najib's motion.

The motion will go to debate with 12 BN MPs selected to debate it, and 10 Pakatan MPs.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim will be the first to debate the motion.

Najib: We demand answers

10.45am: Najib says the Netherlands suffered a "huge" loss when the ratio of 192 of their citizens who died is compared with their population.

"To the families of the victims, I say worry not, because we will not stop seeking the truth."

He also says that "geopolitical conflicts" benefit nobody. "People only suffer further from this.”

Shortly after that, Najib ends his full motion speech.

10.40am: In a rare show of bi-partisanship, Najib expresses his thanks to both opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang for describing the incident as a "mass murder".

He also says that a "ceasefire" must be implemented at the conflict zone immediately.

10.37am: Najib urges for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine.

"Although a lot of effort has been made, many things are still left to be done.

"We will not stop mid-way. As such, investigation must be made by an independent body to determine the cause (of the incident).

"We demand for an immediate answer, whether the plane was shot by a missile and who was responsible for it? What were the motives and who supplied the weapon?

"Was the plane shot intentionally or was it a mistake? All these need concrete and clear evidence."

'I made a promise and so I took the risk'

10.35am: Najib explains that his decision to negotiate with Ukranian separatist leader Alexander Borodai, whose troops control the crash site, was a "risk" he had to take in order to secure the bodies of those who perished and to be able to find out what actually happened to MH17.

"I did this because I promised the families here that the victims can be buried before Syawal."

He adds that it would have beeen "extremely difficult" to make headway in the investigations without securing the black boxes.

10.30am: Najib says if the claims that the plane was shot down are true, it represented an "uncivilised and insolent" act by those responsible.

"But at the moment, we are not pointing fingers at anyone."

Najib says he was made to understand that the area where the incident occurred was controlled by the separatists.

Expressing his disappointment, he says: "I was told that they did not respect the (area of the incident) and did not follow international standards to ensure that the evidence do not get lost."

Najib is also angry with the delay in handling the tragedy which led to the failure in giving the deserved respect to the victims' remains.

10.25am: In a letter addressed to the prime minister, Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar requests Najib to also include the agenda to condemn the Israel-Gaza conflict, which is taking place right now and has been escalating over the past week.

She calls for Israel's attitude in its offensive against Gaza to be described as an act of a "terrorist state".

10.20am: Najib says the route taken by MH17 was certified safe by the Ukrainian authorities, and also by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

He adds that "several" other Asian airlines used the same route "hours" before the MH17 crash.

10.08am: Najib has started reading the motion calling on MPs from both sides of the divide to condemn the shooting down of the civilian aircraft and to demand for a thorough investigation.

10.06am: Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia tells all MPs to express their condolences to the families of the victims.

10.05am: Students from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) are handing out national flags and cheering the MPs arriving at Parliament. Some of the students are wearing black t-shirts with the words: "Justice 4MH17."

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