Speaker plays ‘dad’ as kids act up in Parliament

Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia had his hands full halting the trading of insults between Shabery Cheek and Lim Lip Eng.

KUALA LUMPUR: Kids will be kids and that’s exactly what Minister of Communication and Multimedia Ahmad Shabery Cheek and MP for Segambut proved when they traded insults and other ridiculous forms of mockery in Parliament today.

While Ahmad Shabery jumped at the chance to mock Lim for accidentally calling Malaysia Day, National Day and suggesting he did not even know what September 16 was all about, Lim retaliated by throwing a cynical question at Ahmad Shabery, asking him whether Merdeka Day celebrations would cost more once GST was introduced.

Stopping this apparent ridiculous exchange that was obviously going nowhere was Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia who had to rap the knuckles of both and caution them against posing any more forms of cynical questions at each other that would only invite cynical answers in return.

Nursing a bruised ego, Lim later said in a statement that instead of ridiculing him, Ahmad Shabery should have just answered the question.

Saying he knew that Malaysia Day was celebrated on September 16 and National Day on August 31, Lim added that Ahmad Shabery should remember that it was Pakatan Rakyat and not Barisan Nasional that had pushed for September 16 to be declared a public holiday.

Accusing the Minister of evading the question of whether Malaysia Day would be celebrated on a grander scale because it would include Sabah and Sarawak as well, Lim was of the opinion that Ahmad Shabery preferred instead to dwell on irrelevant matters instead of address the issue head on.