First day at the job, Deputy Speaker Rashid failed to control the House which descended into chaos.
DAP’s Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh became the first lawmaker to be ejected from the 14th Parliament for refusing to retract his “gangster” remarks against Umno Youth members as a matter of principle.
Just one day into the parliamentary proceedings, an hour-long shouting match broke out between the Opposition and Pakatan lawmakers over the use of the word “gangster”.
The heated argument started when Ramkarpal cited an incident where Umno Youth members harassed and stopped his late father former DAP chairman Karpal Singh from entering the Parliament in 2009 as “samseng” (gangsters).
Back in Feb 26, 2009, a group of 22 men claiming to be Selangor Umno Youth members confronted the wheelchair-bound Karpal outside the Parliament tower block.
They were demanding that he retract the use of the word “celaka” which he had uttered in reference to Umno Youth during a debate speech the day before.
“What did the then Umno Youth chief do? These members were given a slap on the wrist.
“What I want to know is, will this Parliament, under the new Pakatan Harapan government, take action against these Umno Youth gangsters as the previous Barisan Nasional government did not do so?” asked Ramkarpal.
This irked Datuk Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah (BN-Lenggong) who said it was not right to describe the Umno Youth chief as a “gangster”.
Ramkarpal, however, denied using the word “gangster” on the Umno Youth chief but said that he was referring to the members who attacked his father.
Datuk Bung Moktar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan) also retaliated by similarly calling Jelutong MP RSN Rayer a gangster after the latter defended Ramkarpal.
Kuala Krau MP Datuk Seri Dr Ismail Mohamed Said interjected and mentioned Standing Order 36 (4), which reads that any impolite words must be retracted.
He then insisted that Deputy Speaker Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon, who was presiding, to make a ruling on the matter.
To this, Rashid said that Ramkarpal should retract the word.
Ramkarpal, however, stood up and apologised to the House but said he was unable to retract the statement.
“I would like to stress that I was of the opinion, and still am, that the Umno Youth members who entered Parliament and harassed my father are all gangsters. I’m just stating the fact. I can never accept this.
“With the greatest of respect to the Speaker and the House, I will not retract my statement,” he said.
Tan Sri Annuar Musa (BN-Ketereh) argued that if a member of the house disobeyed a ruling by the Speaker, action must be taken on the person, including ejecting from the Dewan.
Remaining firm with his stand, Ramkarpal said: “If the house decides to eject me, then this will give a message to the whole world that the act of the Umno Youth members are not gangsterism.
“I respect the Speaker, and I will accept whatever decision the Speaker has to make on me,” he said.
However, after much deliberation, Rashid said his ruling was only meant to serve as a warning.
“Bukit Gelugor should refrain from using such words,” said Rashid.
This further fuelled the ongoing shouting match with the Opposition MPs, including Parit Sulong’s Datuk Noraini Ahmad, Baling’s Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim and Beluran’s Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee, insisting that Ramkarpal be ejected from the House for refusing to adhere to the ruling.
Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan (PAS-Kota Baru) asked if the Deputy Speaker’s ruling would create a precedence where the Speaker’s decision is not abided and a warning will be given.
He lamented that if Ramkarpal was allowed to stay in the Dewan, it would set a precedent of what was to come in the future.
The Kuala Krau MP also questioned the Deputy Speaker if offensive words would be allowed in the Dewan, to which Rashid said no.
“If it is not allowed, then Bukit Gelugor must retract his statement,” Ismail said, with other BN MPs standing up and shouting ‘tarik balik‘ (retract).
After more shouting from both sides, Rashid told those who were not happy with the ruling and who refused to take their seats to leave the House, which none adhered to.
Close to an hour later, Rashid called for proceedings to adjourn for lunch at 1pm and asked that it be resumed at 2.30pm.
When proceedings resumed with Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof on the stand, BN MPs brought the matter up again.
“As a speaker, I have decided that both sides must retract their statements. Retract, and respect the speaker’s decision,” Ariff said.
“Failing so, I will use section 44(2) of the Standing Orders against both of you,” he said, referring to the order that allows the speaker to ban an MP for two days.
“This is just a trivial matter. Don’t use inappropriate words in the House, can we be more mature,” he added.
Ramkarpal, however, maintained his statement and refused to retract, saying: “I apologise, I can’t retract.”
In response, Ariff said: “I have given you a warning. So I am carrying out the duty of a speaker to eject you from the Dewan.”
Bung Moktar, avoiding further controversy on the first day of proceedings, retracted his use of the word “samseng” and said he would abide by the order of the speaker.
When met at the lobby later, Ramkarpal told the media that he refused to retract his statement as a matter of principle.
“So that is my stand, for that reason as a matter of principle, the question of withdrawing (my statement), it does not arise,” he said.
“As far as I am concerned, it is a matter of principle. The Deputy Speaker earlier in the day had made a ruling and the Standing Orders are clear.
“If a ruling has been made and if an MP is unhappy with the ruling, they can file a motion under Standing Order 99 against the Speaker’s decision,” Ramkarpal said.
He added that he was disappointed with the Speaker for making a ruling on top of another ruling.
Ariff did not say how long Ramkarpal is barred from the Lower House, but when asked, Ramkarpal said he expects to return to the House tomorrow, after serving a mandatory 24-hour ejection period.
Following the fracas, MPs from both sides of the divide said they wanted the speaker to be firmer when handling disturbances in the Dewan Rakyat.
“If we want this to be a world-class Parliament, the speaker has to be firm in making decisions and follow through on it,” Khairy Jamaluddin (Umno-Rembau) said.
Wong Chen (PKR-Subang) meanwhile said the speaker should take a stronger stand on such matters.
“This is the first day, and the speaker is new. We hope the situation will cool off.”
During the fracas, Datuk Johari Abdul (PKR-Sungai Petani) reminded senior Opposition members of the House not to “rag or bully” the fresh deputy speaker on his first day at the job.
Throughout it all, Rashid could hardly be heard, or if heard, was ignored.
No one took notice of his instructions for Johari to continue his debate on the royal address before the shouting match broke out, even after he told them that anyone who refused to sit down and give way should leave the Dewan Rakyat.