KUALA LUMPUR – Yet another shouting match erupted in the Dewan Rakyat today as several opposition lawmakers went after Deputy Speaker Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon for his ruling against Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman’s (Pasir Salak-BN) recent indecent outburst.
Frustrated and dissatisfied with the two-day suspension, Rashid was accused of “misleading the House” for saying he had ejected Tajuddin from the lower House last Wednesday when he apparently did not do so.
After temporarily losing his cool, Rashid then ordered the removal of Kasthuriraani Patto (Batu Kawan-PH) after her sustained verbal protest against his ruling and repeated demands for an explanation.
Yet another shouting match erupted in the Dewan Rakyat today as opposition lawmakers went after Deputy Speaker Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon for his ruling against @tajuddinrahman.
— TheVibes.com (@thevibesnews) July 26, 2022
The verbal altercation resulted in Batu Kawan MP @PattoKasthuri being ordered out of the Dewan. pic.twitter.com/GvNLwlU3l7
“The speaker did not eject him (Tajuddin) from the House. You misled the House when you said you ejected him. Pasir Salak was not instructed to leave. Kota Belud was instructed to leave,” Kasthuriraani said, after refusing to accept the ruling.
Last Wednesday, Tajuddin, a former Umno Supreme Council member, had allegedly uttered the degrading Malay swear word “p*****k”, a crude term referring to a mother’s genitals.
He launched into a shouting match with opposition MPs, calling them out for labelling him as a lawmaker prone to making sexist remarks.
Before delivering the decision, Rashid opened the floor to Tajuddin to explain himself.
“I strongly reject and refute Batu Kawan and her colleagues’ accusations who conspire to bring me down. This is political assassination and slander.
“It is not long till the general election, they are trying to create the image that I am not fit to be the people’s representative,” Tajuddin said.
Explaining his decision, Rashid said he had checked the Parliament Hansard and did not hear Tajuddin uttering such a derogatory word.
“Regarding that ‘p’ word, we have checked the Parliament Hansard, there was no such word,” he said.
His clarification was not well received by Kasthuriraani as well as coalition colleagues like Teo Nie Ching (Kulai-PH), R.S.N. Rayer (Jelutong-PH) and Ramkarpal Singh (Bukit Gelugor-PH).
The lawmakers could be heard shouting over each other even though their mics were turned off temporarily.
When the mics were unmuted, Teo posed a question and said “Can MPs use vulgarisms when the mics are turned off?”
Meanwhile, Kasthuriraani stressed that during the incident last Wednesday, nine MPs heard Tajuddin allegedly saying the swear word.
“In my letter, I mentioned that the microphones were turned off. Of course you can’t find it on the hansard.
“Nine MPs who were witnesses said they heard it, right? There are also witnesses from the government bloc.
“Why is it so difficult to ask for Pasir Salak to apologise?”
After temporarily losing his cool, Rashid then ordered the removal of Kasthuriraani after her sustained verbal protest against his ruling and repeated demands for an explanation.
“Barisan Nasional MPs support the usage of curse words in the Parliament,” she said.
“No, please don’t stop me. I will finish what I am going to say,” she told the sergeant-at-arms, preventing him from escorting her out.
“You all (pointing at lawmakers from the government bloc) support the usage of curse words in Parliament. Today, it’s on record.” – The Vibes, July 26, 2022
