Today is a most shameful day for Parliament, with Barisan Nasional MPs giving another example of the abuse and tyranny of the overwhelming majority of the Barisan Nasional to prevent legitimate problems of the people from being ventilated in Parliament.
It is disgusting to see Barisan Nasional MPs wasting the time of Parliament and taxpayers’ money on titillating subjects like Viagra and Tongkat Ali, making sexist remarks and all sorts of irrelevant matters in the winding-up of the Sale of Drugs (Amendment) Bill just with one purpose in mind – to drag out the debate on the bill for the whole of today just to ensure that the next items of parliamentary business do not come up for debate.
Once the Sale of Drugs (Amendment) Bill is passed, private members’ motion would come up for debate, as there are no more government business in today’s Order Paper. Although my motion on private member’s bill for a five-year extension of the Rent Control (Repeal) Act is the seventh of 19 Opposition private member’s motion, it will immediately come up for debate when the Sale of Drugs (Amendment) Bill is passed because the first six motions in the name of the PAS MP for Marang, Haji Abdul Hadi bin Haji Awang, will not be moved as Hadi has been absent in the last two days.
It is most disgraceful that Barisan Nasional MPs should stoop so low as to want to "kill" my motion for five-year extension of the Rent Control (Repeal) Act in view of the socio-economic hardships that would be faced by 60,000 people from 16,000 households in 12,000 pre-war premises in Penang, that MCA and Gerakan conspire with UMNO MPs to drag out the winding-up of the debate on the Sale of Drugs (Amendment) Bill.
In the process, the Barisan Nasional has again abused its two-thirds parliamentary majority by blatantly breaching parliamentary standing orders, with many Barisan Nasional MPs making multiple speeches under the pretext of seeking clarification from the Deputy Health Minister, Rustam Ali – just to "kill" my motion on private member’s bill on five-year extension of the Rent Control (Repeal) Act.
MCA, Gerakan and UMNO MPs should apologise to the 60,000 people affected by the repeal of the Rent Control (Repeal) Act in denying them an opportunity to raise their grievances and to seek relief in Parliament.
(19/10/99)