Commotion breaks out in Dewan Rakyat over MITRA issue

KUALA LUMPUR: The Dewan Rakyat sitting was adjourned for five minutes today after a commotion broke out when several opposition members of Parliament (MPs) disputed National Unity Minister Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique's answer on the issue of the Malaysian Indian Community Transformation Unit (MITRA) fund.

Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun adjourned the sitting at 12.50 pm and resume after five minutes.

The commotion has also caused Sivakumar Varatharaju Naidu (PH-Batu Gajah) to be ordered out of the Dewan Rakyat for 10 minutes.

Earlier, Halimah when winding up the debate on the motion of thank for the royal address on behalf of her ministry, said that the briefing on the Indian Community Action Plan (PTMI) proposed on Jan 14 has been postponed to March 22.

"That proposed Jan 14 (for the briefing) had to be postponed because the Pongal Festival was celebrated on that day. I have sent a letter to the opposition leader to hold this briefing on March 22 before the end of this session and the opposition leader has agreed," she said.

She explained that the briefing session to be held next Tuesday (March 22) would be about PTMI while matters related to the investigation on the MITRA fund by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) would not be presented in the briefing.

"On March 22, we will provide a briefing on PTMI's pillars, what the plans are, including MITRA's plans for 2022. I cannot answer questions related to the MACC (investigation results), the law minister will answer on behalf of the MACC.

"I cannot give information on allocation, how much has been spent by MITRA and on the breakdown because all these are contained in the investigation by the MACC. If the MPs want to ask for details about the MACC (investigation), please ask the relevant minister," she said.

Halimah's explanation caused the dissatisfaction of some opposition MPs who continued to urge the minister to provide answers on the issue of the MITRA fund.

M. Kulasegaran (PH-Ipoh Barat) said the minister should have provided a detailed explanation on the MITRA fund issue and the postponement of the briefing session was a disappointment.

Sivakumar interjected and wanted to know about the debts that had been paid using the MITRA fund and asked if Halimah would present the expenses incurred in 2020 and 2021.

Halimah then said the MACC would clarify all the questions raised by the MPs once the investigation was completed.

However, Halimah's answer was rejected by the opposition bloc and heated argument between the minister and opposition MPs ensued for 15 minutes until Azhar ordered Sivakumar out of the Dewan Rakyat for 10 minutes after repeatedly asking him to sit down.

"(Members of the Dewan Rakyat) can ask for an explanation, only if given permission (to do so). The minister has given an explanation on the question raised but if the Honorable members want to debate ... it is not allowed," he said.

However, Azhar's order was ignored by the opposition bloc and continued to press Halimah to give an explanation causing Azhar to adjourn the sitting for five minutes.

-- BERNAMA