Philosophy Politics Economics

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Motion to Cut Minister's Pay Allowed in UK Posted: 23 Oct 2012 11:11 AM PDT Pandikar says does not want to look 'stupid' by allowing pay-cut motions  UPDATED @ 07:24:00 PM 23-10-2012 By Clara Chooi Assistant News Editor October 23, 2012 KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia today upheld his decision to reject pay-cut motions during debates on the budget, telling opposition MPs that he did not want to be seen as "stupid" by allowing it. He insisted that such motions should not be permitted in the budget process, pointing out that it was merely meant as a "token cut" to a minister's salary and this was not a substantial enough reason. "My issue is that — is this an action by leaders in my country that I should abet? I had to make a stand," Pandikar said. "And this motion is not substantial... I do not want to be seen as though I am stupid or I am not a good person." He said he does not want other parliaments in the world to observe Malaysia's Lower House and find that "we do not know what we are doing". He said he agreed with Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timor) that there were many provisions in the Standing Orders that needed to be explained further to MPs to prevent future disagreements on which motions should be allowed. "This is what I am doing here. So you can still send me a notice on Standing Order 66(9) but do not use it to cut a minister's salary," he told the Lower House today. Pandikar was responding after Tony Pua (DAP-Petaling Jaya Utara) stood to protest yesterday's ban on pay-cut motions, claiming the Speaker had been wrong when he said that that no other parliamentary democracies in the world allow such motions. Pua told the House that the British Parliament had just last week debated a pay-cut motion against Conservative Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell, requesting to slash the minister's pay by £1,000 (RM5,000). According to media reports, Mitchell was facing censure for allegedly losing his temper and using the derogatory word "plebs" on two police officers who refused to allow him to cycle through the main gates at Downing Street. The term "pleb" is used by upper-class English to describe those below them in the social pecking order. "Not only was this motion approved by the UK Parliament for debates, but this caused the Chief Whip to resign... and this only involved a case of him speaking roughly to the police," Pua said. He added that this was not the first pay-cut motion to be debated in parliaments outside Malaysia. "There was another case in 1976 where the opposition even won the vote count. "So I would like to put on record that this is not something that is unique to Malaysia, or something that is not practised by other countries," he said. But Pandikar insisted that the example given by Pua on Mitchell was inappropriate as it involved a criminal matter, which he said that Parliament has the power to punish the MP.

Dr Chua Soi Lek Insults Voters Posted: 21 Oct 2012 04:03 AM PDT Soi Lek risks votes with audit report gaffe By Clara Chooi Assistant News Editor October 19, 2012 KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 19 — Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek displayed ignorance and insulted the intelligence of Malaysians when he said the Auditor-General's Report would not affect Barisan Nasional's (BN) electoral support, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers have charged. The lawmakers said Dr Chua was underestimating today's electorate and reminded the MCA president that the BN-led administration no longer has a monopoly on the dissemination of information to the masses. On the flip side, they agreed that Dr Chua's assertion would only serve the opposition well in the coming polls as if all BN leaders were of the same thinking, it was clear that they have failed to take cognisance of their past failures. DAP publicity secretary Tony Pua reminded Dr Chua (picture) of the Election 2008 results, where BN and particularly the MCA had suffered its worst electoral losses to date, even losing five states and its coveted two-thirds parliamentary majority to PR. "The times have changed," the Petaling Jaya Utara MP told Dr Chua. "The MSM (mainstream media) no longer has a monopoly over information, and the reported abuses tabled by the A-G can easily and quickly reach the ears of the voters... sentiments change quickly as witnessed in 2008. "Hence the fact that CSL (Soi Lek) can still think that the AG report is trivial and a mere temporary distraction only proves that MCA has elected for themselves a leader who is trapped in the past, and a complete inability to connect and relate to the voters of today," he told The Malaysian Insider over Blackberry Messenger. For the full story on The Malaysian Insider, click here.

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