Kit Siang delivers stinging remarks against BN backbenchers - malaysiakini

Malaysiakini's report:

An opposition leader has hit out at the Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club (BNBBC) today, claiming it is being led by “spoilt brats” who show no concern for parliamentary integrity.

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Veteran politician Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timor) said today that benchmarks have “gone down the drain” after new leaders took over following the March general election.

“[...] nobody has done more than the present BNBBC chairperson (Bintulu MP Tiong King Sing, left) and deputy chairperson (Kinabatangan MP Bung Moktar Radin, right) to bring shame, dishonour and disrepute to Parliament,” Lim argued in a statement today.

He further described the current batch of leaders as having conducted themselves not very differently from “spoilt brats”. Tiong and Bung Moktar are both known to be outspoken and controversial in their comments at times.

Lim’s comments came in the wake of the backbenchers’ refusal to join a new parliamentary caucus on judiciary independence and integrity, initiated yesterday by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Tiong has claimed that the backbenchers were not informed in advance of the caucus’ first meeting. He was also unhappy that only one of nine posts has been allocated to BN MPs.

‘Lack of seriousness’

Lim, in response, said Tiong’s explanation has only exposed the backbenchers’ lack of seriousness in their role as a parliamentarians. He also clarified that the meeting had earlier been publicised in the media.

Taking a swipe at the BNBBC leadership, Lim said their “greatest achievement” has been to go on agricultural study tour in Taiwan recently, purportedly to foil Pakatan Rakyat’s Sept 16 plan to take over the federal government.

“The negative, irresponsible and even ‘anarchist’ mindset and mentality of the BNBBC chairperson and deputy chairperson are again illustrated by their spoil-sport reaction to the establishment of the parliamentary caucus on the judiciary independence and integrity,” he said.

Striking a comparison, Lim said there was “class, quality and a palpable commitment to parliamentary integrity, excellence and professionalism” in the BNBBC when it was helmed by Shahrir Abdul Samad.

Shahrir, who held the post after the 2004 general election quit the post abruptly two years later on principle, when he failed to get his colleagues to join him to support an opposition motion in the House.

The motion was to refer a BN MP to a parliamentary committee to face investigation for alleged abuse of power. Shahrir is now the domestic trade and consumer affairs minister.

“Even when the BNBBC was subsequently taken over by then Larut MP Ahmad Zainuddin Omar (now a Perak state assemblyperson), utmost efforts were made by the BNBBC to maintain parliamentary standards,” Lim added - malaysiakini.com