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Categories
| Khir: Suspension politically motivated, element of revenge |
| Written by Yong Min Wei | |||
| Wednesday, 20 May 2009 13:07 | |||
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Khir said the suspension meted out by the committee on him and four Barisan Nasional (BN) state assemblymen was harsh and inconsistent with the state government’s practise of freedom of speech and freedom of information. He said Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim’s administration was trying to silence any form of dissent and criticism in the state assembly, adding that the suspension on him and four assemblymen would hamper checks and balances of the state government. "This (punishment) is more cruel than the ISA," he told a press conference today flanked by assemblymen Datuk Warno Dogol (Sabak), Mohd Isa Abu Kasim (Batang Kali) and Datuk Marsum Paing (Dengkil). The fourth assemblyman Datuk Mohamed Idris Abu Bakar (Hulu Bernam) is currently overseas. The Rights and Privileges Committee on Wednesday announced a one-year suspension on Khir following his failure to attend the Select Committee for Competency, Accountability and Transparency’s (Selcat) public hearing of the now defunct Wives of Selangor Barisan Nasional Parliamentarians and State Assemblymen Welfare Organisation (Balkis). He also faces suspension for six months each of three insulting statement he made on Selcat, his blog and to the press. The suspensions are to run concurrently. As for the four assemblymen, they were each suspended six months from the state assembly for making statements that were deemed to have defamed the assembly. They have also accused Selcat of not being independent and that it is a political tool to exact revenge. According to Khir, although the recommendations by the committee would have to be tabled at the next state assembly sitting in July, it was purely academic as Pakatan Rakyat (PR) had the majority in the assembly for the suspensions to be passed and it was pointless to reason with the lawmakers. The former menteri besar said he had yet to receive an official notification from the committee on his suspension but confirmed that a panel of lawyers were prepared to study the implications and charter the next course of action. Khir, who is Sungai Panjang assemblyman, said the suspension would not hinder him from performing his duty in his constituency, noting that he would also go around Selangor to highlight PR’s failure to govern the state and its inability to fulfill election promises. He pointed out that Teng, who was suspended 30 months in April 2005 for throwing a copy of the Standing Order into a waste-paper basket, would not have to serve the lengthy suspension if he had apologised to the state assembly then. "In Parliament they (PR) talk about freedom but in the state they want to shut us up," he added. On why he refused to attend the public hearing on Balkis, Khir said Selcat had no "locus standi" to investigate Balkis which comes under the purview of the Registrar of Societies (ROS), stressing that Balkis had been dissolved according to law. "Can Selcat investigate DAP’s accounts or any organisation's accounts they feel like?" he questioned. He added that Selcat should not be made up of politicians who might have vested interest but should instead comprised those who were impartial such as retired judges, senior government officials and even journalists. Khir pointed out that the state government should emulate the Penang government’s Competency, Accountability and Transparency (CAT) initiative where it monitors its own administration and to determine any shortcomings. "(Lim) Guan Eng uses CAT to monitor the present government, but in Selangor they look at the past," said Khir. He said Selcat should instead concentrate on a number of issues that could affect the people of Selangor, including possible misappropriation of revenue from sand, executive councillor Ronnie Liu’s court case, the Klang Utara Bus Terminal controversy and the problem of rubbish collection.
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