DISAPPOINTED with the lack of stern action against Tajuddin Abdul Rahman for making derogatory remarks about Hindus, Kota Melaka MP Khoo Poay Tiong now hopes to bring the matter to the attention of the Rights and Privileges Committee.

Khoo said he will write to the administration to get a minister to refer the opposition MP to the committee for further action.

He said stern action must be taken to protect the integrity and sanctity of the Dewan Rakyat.

Tajuddin, who is the Pasir Salak MP, sparked an uproar in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday when he questioned Jelutong MP RSN Rayer if the ash on his forehead (vibhuthi) were the ashes of former Communist Party leader Chin Peng.

Khoo had joined in the ensuing shouting match between Rayer and Tajuddin which caused Speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusoff to expel Tajuddin and Khoo when the two refused his orders to pipe down.

Khoo was subsequently suspended for two days.

“If a suspension is the price that I have to pay for standing up against racist insults and defending the rights of our fellow Malaysians, so be it,” he said in a statement today.

He said the remark was not only insulting to Rayer but to whole Hindu community and could be taken as an attack on their religious practices.

“The Speaker has accepted Tajuddin withdrawal without any punishment, although he showed no remorse. In Tajuddin’s own words, he said ‘Ok-lah, tarik balik lah… apa masalah?’” while continuing to laugh at the matter,” he said.

He said the Speaker has set a negative precedence by letting Tajuddin off the hook without a stern penalty.

“I stood up to strongly protest against the decision. I believed that the speaker was setting a negative precedent because this means that any MP can now make a derogatory statement that insults other religions and the get away with it by just withdrawing the statement later.

“Unfortunately, the speaker then decided to suspend me from parliament for two days for creating a ‘ruckus’.

“Tajuddin was also then suspended, and he openly challenged the Speaker to suspend him for a longer period.”

While he harboured no ill feelings towards the Speaker, Khoo said he wanted to make his stance clear that this was not the way to conduct Dewan Rakyat proceedings. 

Khoo said he had informed the speaker that it was not the first time Tajuddin and other BN MPs had made disparaging remarks in the August House. 

“Who could forget the four-letter profanity uttered by Bung Moktar (MP Kinabatangan) last year, who also escaped punishment?,” he said.

Khoo challenged BN, especially MIC and MCA, to state if they agreed with the insult made by Tajuddin, who is in the coalition. – December 4, 2019.