THE opposition is recycling the same old issues in Dewan Rakyat today, minister Azalina Othman Said said, after the opposition objected to Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia’s refusal to accept parliamentary questions related to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)

The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said opposition MPs’ claim that not even one question about 1MDB was answered was inaccurate as four 1MDB questions, submitted by the Petaling Jaya Utara, Kelana Jaya, Seremban and Segambut MPs, were listed on the Order Paper during the last session of Dewan Rakyat in April. 

“The action of opposition to exaggerate this matter only shows the lack of issues brought to Parliament. They should have given priority to local issues in their constituencies instead of recycling the same issue,” she said in statement today. 

Azalina said some questions were not listed probably because they were linked to ongoing court cases or were against Dewan Rakyat’s Standing Orders .

Pandikar earlier today refused to accept more than 30 questions on issues plaguing 1MDB. 

Opposition leader Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail asked if the government was ready to order a White Paper on foreign intervention pertaining to 1MDB. 

At the press conference afterwards, Wan Azizah said the Speaker had rejected questions on 1MDB because they appeared to be more allegations than questions and that they were “hurtful”.

Wan Azizah said the opposition would challenge Pandikar’s decision by bringing forward a motion under Rule 99 of the Dewan Rakyat Standing Orders.

The questions posed ranged from whether the government would accept the return of money and assets seized by the US Department of Justice to how 1MDB would pay its debts.

1MDB is scheduled to pay US$602.7 million (RM2.58 billion) to Abu Dhabi fund International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) next Monday. – July 24, 2017.