A MOTION to refer Najib Razak to Parliament’s Rights and Privileges Committee for allegedly breaching an embargo on the Felda White Paper had MPs arguing for an hour today.

Government backbenchers support the move to refer the former prime minister to the committee, to determine whether he committed an offence by uploading the document, which was embargoed until 11.30am yesterday, onto his Facebook page on Tuesday evening.

The White Paper was tabled by Economics Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali yesterday.

The opposition insists that Najib did no wrong as the document was uploaded onto the Parliament website on Tuesday for public viewing, with no mention of an embargo.

After de facto law minister Liew Vui Keong tabled the motion, opposition leader Ismail Sabri Yaakob (Bera-BN) said the embargo was “automatically cancelled” after the document was uploaded onto the Parliament website.

He accused the government of rushing the motion and having a hidden agenda against Najib.

“Yesterday, we learnt that the motion today was supposed to have Pekan (Najib) suspended for three months. But now, it has been amended to have him referred to the standing committee. This is a flip-flop, a U-turn,” he said when debating the motion.

“On April 9, a day before the White Paper was tabled, the document was uploaded onto the Parliament website. It was available for the public to access.

“So, Pekan uploading the document onto Facebook was not a breach. The document had already been made public.”

Ismail Sabri asked the government whether anyone else will face action for disclosing the White Paper when it was still embargoed, citing Rule 95A of the Standing Orders, which states that “all bills and papers to be embargoed until a stated date shall bear a slip to that effect, and any person who publishes such bills or papers or any part thereof before the stated date shall be deemed to have committed an act of contempt of the House”.

He added that Najib has been absent from Parliament due to court cases since Monday, thus, the ex-prime minister may not have been aware of the embargo.

“We should consider this. Don’t have a personal agenda against him. Let’s be rational and not punish based on assumptions,” he said, calling for the motion to be dropped.

Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man (Kubang Kerian-PAS) also called for the motion to be dismissed, saying the embargo was of no purpose after the White Paper was shared on the Parliament website.

“The House doesn’t need to discuss this further. If the document was never uploaded onto the Parliament website, I would also agree to refer Pekan to the committee.

“Instead, I think the House should issue a warning to everyone about not breaching embargoes.”

Noh Omar (Tanjung Karang-BN) said the party who uploaded the White Paper onto the website should also face the music, and that the minister in charge of parliamentary matters should be held responsible, too.

Several Barisan Nasional MPs said considering the circumstances, the motion against Najib should be postponed.

Mohd Shahar Abdullah (Paya Besar-BN) said the government should conduct a forensic IT investigation into the “embarrassing” matter.

Azalina Othman Said (Pengerang-BN) urged the government to investigate “the crucial point” of whether the embargo was breached by having the White Paper on the Parliament website before pursuing the motion against Najib.

“The motion can be postponed until the next Parliament session.”

Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar (Santubong-GPS), however, agreed with the government’s proposal to refer Najib to the committee.

He said the accused can request a lawyer to be present during the committee’s proceedings.

“We are dealing with the question of facts. It is right to refer (Najib) to the committee,” said the former minister, interjecting an MP during the debate.

Government backbencher Johari Abdul (Sg Petani-PH) said referring Najib to the committee is the right thing to do.

“Pekan will be able to seek justice when he defends himself at the committee, chaired by the speaker. The committee will surely study the matter carefully.

“Sending him to the committee is not to punish him, but to let the committee decide whether he committed wrongdoing.”

Dr Ronald Kiandee (Beluran-PH) asked Johari if he is aware that what Najib posted at 5.39pm on Tuesday were photographs of the White Paper’s hard copy, and not the digital version available on the Parliament website.

“This is why we need to refer him to the committee, to the establish facts, to see if he did any wrong. We are hearing all sorts of information on the matter,” said Johari.

Lim Kit Siang (Iskandar Puteri-PH) said the government is not make prejudgments.

“Two wrongs don’t make a right. For fairness, the committee should look into the matter before the House is asked to make a decision on the issue.”

Ngeh Koo Ham (Beruas-PH), too, defended the government’s move.

“The committee is the right place to look into the matter. It has the authority to call up witnesses, obtain documents and determine the truth.

“We should be thankful we have a fair government.”

Though the government is upset by Najib’s move to publicly share the White Paper while it was under embargo, after consulting MPs, the administration decided it is best to have him referred to the committee, where he can defend himself, added Ngeh.

The debate will resume at 2.30pm after the House breaks for lunch. – April 11, 2019.