Bid to refer Ng Yen Yen to privileges panel fails
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/136145
Hazlan Zakaria, Jul 1, 10, 5:47pm
Parliamentarian Teresa Kok (DAP-Seputeh) today tried to drag Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen to the rights and privileges committee over discrepancies in two written answers from the ministry on the cost of the much criticised Malaysian pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo.
However, her attempt was thwarted by Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia who said he saw no attempt by the minister to mislead the House.
His refusal caused more ruckus, with other opposition parliamentarians rising to chide him. But he side-stepped all opposition and maintained his stand.“In my view, the minister either answered carelessly or did not consult with her officers on what happened yesterday,” said Pandikar, referring to the apology by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Aziz over the discrepancy in his answer on the proposal to build a new parliament building.
While he did not see fit to refer Ng to the powerful parliamentary committee, the speaker warned the minister and her officers to be on their toes, not to repeat such mistakes and to be more vigilant when answering questions. This, he said, was because discrepancies in the answers of ministers have become “quite frequent”.
Pavilion cost: RM20 million or RM35 million?
Pandikar also told all ministers who gave contradicting answers, including Ng, and officers from their ministries, to get back to him with their reasons as to why there were variations in their answers.
Making her move to refer Ng to the panel, Kok (right) cited a written answer she got from Deputy Tourism Minister James Dawos Mamit yesterday that gave the cost for the construction, operation and demolition of the Malaysian pavilion in Shanghai at RM20 million.
The answer, she said, contradicted that given to Fong Po Kuan (DAP-Batu Gajah) by the same ministry, which stated that the total cost was RM35 million.
“The two answers are different. This is misleading the Dewan, I think that the minister should be referred to the rights and privileges committee,” Kok added.
Despite allegedly failing to make the splash it was supposed to with visitors to the Shanghai World Expo, the Malaysian pavilion continued to raise a ruckus in Parliament. Today’s incident was just another in a long list of questions the opposition has thrown at what it claims to be another failed project.