KUALA LUMPUR – Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh today called out the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government for failing to answer questions on ministerial spending in Parliament.
The former deputy women, family and community development minister said she had posed three questions to the PN administration, but the replies received failed to include “any answers whatsoever”.
Yeoh's first question, directed to Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, was on how many civil servants and ministers went to Sabah during the state election in September.
“We want to know the answer to this because many personnel went to Sabah. We must know if the monies used for that came from the party or government agencies. And, if we look at the answer given there are no details,” she told a press conference at the Parliament lobby.
The second question Yeoh raised was directed to Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa concerning Residents' Association Council (MPP) appointees.
“We asked who these MPP members are. If they established the MPP, the representatives must state which organisation they come from and what mandate they have,” she added.
Third, she referred to a question from the second parliamentary session this year.
It was directed to Minister in Prime Minister's Department (Special Affairs) Datuk Seri Redzuan Md Yusof concerning which cabinet members carried out renovation works to their homes and office.
Yeoh said ministers are given a short time to answer questions raised in the Dewan Rakyat, referring to the question posed to the federal territories minister.
“Other Kuala Lumpur MPs and I were not given a chance to debate, but MPs from other areas were given the time.
“The speaker must allocate time to the MPs coming from the constituencies in question. The speaker said we could interject when the minister answers, but the minister is only given 15 minutes to reply.”
She then alleged that the government did not answer these questions because it does not want the people to know the truth.
Yeoh was joined by Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching in raising this issue on the lack of answers by the PN cabinet.
Teo, meanwhile, referenced a December 8 question posed to the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry on the Welfare Department's RM1,000 cash handout.
"During the committee stage for the Women, Family, and Community Development Ministry, Batu Kawan MP Kasturi Patto and I enquired on the RM1,000 cash assistance from the Welfare Department promised by the prime minister.
“We wanted to know when it will be implemented. But, because of a lack of time, the minister promised to answer in writing, but we have yet to receive it,” Teo said. – The Vibes, December 16, 2020
