Weekend View 8: Karpal Thanks MADD for support. (2nd Half of Video)

Karpal incident not a disabled issue? - Malaysiakini

QUICK COMMENT:

What do you think about the disabled senator's comments in Malaysiakini?

Do you think that what happened to MP Karpal Singh has nothing to do with him being disabled?

In other words, can our MPs have a free reign to insult disabilities of any MPs without sanctions?

Do you think that MADD was wrong to take up the issue of discrimination in Parliament?

Do you think that the disabled senator is fit to hold his position in representing the needs of all disabled Malaysians?

Tell us! Please share you thoughts with us in the COMMENTS section at the bottom of this page.

Also, be sure to give us your views on our special poll on the right sidebar at the top of this page.

aNt
PET+BLOGSPOT

malaysiakini story:

Visually impaired senator Dr Ismail Md Salleh today defended himself saying that he is doing his best in representing persons with disabilities.

However, he said certain quarters may have "different views" about this.

Ismail was responding to the Malaysians Against the Discrimination of the Disabled (MADD) who asked why the senator had kept silent on the discriminatory remarks made against wheelchair-bound DAP stalwart Karpal Singh in the Dewan Rakyat.

MADD also staged a protest in Parliament yesterday demanding an apology from Barisan Nasional MP Bung Mokhtar Radin and Independent MP Ibrahim Ali.

While Bung had challenged Karpal 'to stand up' during a heated exchange in the House, Ibrahim had criticised the DAP veteran for not seeking permission to address the House while seated.

Responding, Ismail said: "I don’t think they should make an issue about this. Karpal just happens to be disabled and it has nothing to do with the disabled."

Karpal became partially paralysed following a car accident two years ago.

'Toothless tiger'

Ismail also rebutted criticism that "nothing is happening" in relation to the Persons with Disabilities Act with regards to the rights of the disabled since the former was appointed senator.

The criticism came from Independent Living and Training Centre president G Francis Siva, who was present at yesterday’s protest.

"There are a lot of standard operation procedures to be taken," explained Ismail, adding that the Act is still in the process to be gazetted.

"We are waiting for the Ministry to get it done," he said.

The groups should wait until the 26th or 27th of this month when the Parliamentary session is over to get a decision, he added.

Ismail, who is also an adviser for Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on disability issues, stressed that critics should not "question my capabilities."

However, MADD’s legal adviser N Surendran dismissed the Act, which was passed last December, as a "toothless tiger."

"It is a cosmetic attempt by the government to pretend that they are actually doing something for the disabled," he told a press conference in Parliament yesterday.

MADD also submitted a memorandum to Oppositon Leader and PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail for the Act to be amended to include penalties against those who breach its provisions.

Article From New Straits Times On Disabled Apology In Parliament

DEWAN RAKYAT, Thurs:

Disputably, Datuk Paduka Ibrahim Ali is Malaysia’s greatest, if not the most famous, political survivor: a political punching bag of enormous buffer and a battering ram of raw intensity who berates opponents in his colorfully glottal Kelantanese-speak and outsized personality, not conforming to his medium-sized but bull-like build.

By his own admission, the 57-year-old endured four decades of political battering and volatile political fortunes – forcibly exiled, twice, in his dark years of ISA detention, then loathed by former comrades for his proclivity to jump party but grudgingly admired for his impeccable timing to defect, distrusted by current party colleagues for the same reason, but well liked by friends and devoted supporters though thought to be “flexible” by fellow Dewan Rakyat MPs.

With little or no pause in that four decades, the Independent MP for Pasir Mas has the reputation of a tough street brawler, a pugilist with the ability to absorb bloody political jabs and punches from all sides before counter punching a few lethal blows himself against his aggressors: just ask Kelantan Pas, Berjasa (now defunct) and Umno leaders. Tenacious, with the subtlety of a pit bull, Ibrahim had outlived political expediency while carrying out his mentor’s bidding. That’s the thing with Ibrahim: if he believes in a leader and that leader barks an order, there’s no obstacle that can stop the man from Pasir Mas. Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, one former mentor, can testify to that rock-solid loyalty.

But today, outside the Dewan Rakyat and at the Parliament lobby, Ibrahim’s reputation of fearlessness count for nothing. For all his tough guy, Rambo-style reprisals against political leaders who may have belittled his nationalistic fervour, Ibrahim was somewhat flabbergasted when he was confronted angrily by a group of 30 handicapped people, many of them on wheelchairs. Mutually-minded MPs on the warpath like Lim Kit Siang and like Karpal Singh he can handle but these people?

It all stemmed from the Dewan Rakyat’s first day: Ibrahim, who has this long-standing target practice routine against Karpal Singh inside the august hall, triggered this altercation: in the most dead-panned of tone, he questioned why the wheelchair-bound Karpal did not seek the House’s permission to speak without having to stand up. Admittedly, it was tasteless, politically incorrect and obnoxious, but then, this was a snipe at the bullet-and-insult-proof Karpal we are talking about.
No matter. Ibrahim aggravated matters by refusing to apologise to Karpal despite the barrage of scorn from DAP MPs. But that was that. However, at the Parliament lobby, Ibrahim faced a different proposition. Word was that Karpal’s son, Gobind Singh Deo, was approached by a group calling themselves the Malaysian Against the Discrimination of the Disabled, that carried the wonderfully apt acronym of MADD, at least for today, to get Ibrahim and Bung Mukhtar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan) to meet them. Gobind managed to persuade Ibrahim to meet the MADD people but as he barely spoke, the wheel-chaired people jettisoned protocol by shouting this demand to Ibrahim: apologise to Karpal. The MADD people also pushed a two-page memorandum to that effect to Ibrahim.

Courteously, Ibrahim explained that his poser to Karpal was never meant to hurt disabled people where in fact, he actually loved the handicapped. But that didn’t appease the mob: three or four members of the group shouted back, insisting that Ibrahim apologise to Karpal. That was enough to superheat Ibrahim as he retorted: “Why should I apologise to Karpal? I was only raising a point of order in the Dewan Rakyat!” But shouts demanding that he apologise to Karpal rained on him like rotten eggs and this time, Ibrahim maintained his non-apology stance but at a few octaves higher before deciding that the verbal wrestling wasn’t worth his time. So he walked away, shutting out the drone of jeers, heckles and shouts: “Apologise to Karpal! Apologise to Karpal!”

Then there’s that ungainly appellation of being dubbed the “frog”. Ibrahim isn’t shy of admitting this, acknowledging the fact inside the House while interjecting Datuk Anifah Aman (BN-Kimanis) yesterday when the Sabahan was envisioning, and denying, Sabah BN MPs’ mass defection to Pakatan Rakyat. While Anifah made no honorable or direct mention of Ibrahim in his arguments, the Pasir Mas MP somehow felt a slight and stood up to outline this: why must talk of defections be focused on him!

Amused, Anifah was perplexed at Ibrahim’s ability to defect that he could not decide whether to regard it as a “curse” or a “matter of respect” but he did regard Ibrahim’s serial defections over the years as “flexible” – from Pas to Berjasa to Umno to Semangat 46, back to Umno, sacked from Umno for ignoring orders not to contest as an Independent in 2004, and now an Independent MP who won on a Pas ticket. Go figure.

Ibrahim had a plausible explanation for all the hopping: political struggle, even to the extent of being detained under the Internal Security Act. Twice at that, once in the 1970s and the second in the 1980s. “If you fear the ISA, then forget about any political struggle,” he philosophised.

Now here’s the amazing rub: Ibrahim, in his debate to on the royal address, declared that he was supportive of the ISA although he had been twice a victim. The ISA – the part where police can detain you without trial – should stay but with some major modifications: discretionary powers in the hands of the Home Minister must be transferred to a security committee whose members must also include Suhakam representatives.

Ibrahim clearly understood the confusion of people who naturally think that he must be against the ISA but he gave this rather narcissistic scenario on why the preventive laws were necessary: “I can round up thousands of people to demonstrate in Chow Kit and there may be trouble with the possibility of bloodshed. Now if the security people know about this before hand, they are not about to wait for it to happen. They have to stop it by detaining the organisers.”

Detain yes but only for 14 days instead of the unlimited period of many continuations, he argued. Ibrahim proposed that anyone detained under then ISA must be produced in court within 14 days with proof that the detainee meant to cause trouble that would have breached national security. “If there is no proof, let the detainee go.”

After rambling on a series of points that touched on the lapses in the New Economic Policy that undermined the Malay’s economic share, uneven awards of education scholarships, the need for Malaysia to ratify the United Nations convention on corruption and an “order” to the Rural and Regional Development Minister to visit Pasir Mas to check out the poverty there, Ibrahim appealed MPs to pay tribute to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, whom he described as the “most maligned now” despite his towering global achievements for Malaysia.

“Say what you will or curse whatever you like, I too criticised Dr Mahathir, I fought him inside the Umno supreme council when he pushed for the idea of meritocracy but who else spoke his mind, then fought the superpowers like the United States and Britain to raise Malaysia’s profile. Because of him we assume chairmanship of international bodies like OIC. I ask now you to pay tribute to him.”

For Ibrahim Ali, just his typical day of riling up people, putting himself in “harm’s way” but making sure he is heard loud and clear, while maintaining that his health (he suffers from diabetes) doesn’t take a licking. A survivor’s tale.

END

Malaysiakini: DISABLED SUPPORT - YEN YEN RIGHT BUT . . .

We refer to issues affecting the disabled reported in the media recently. We are most delighted to learn that Women, Family and Community Development Minister Dr Ng Yen Yen is setting up a special task force to get handicapped Malaysians employed in the private sector.

The minister is spot on in her new mission; especially in ensuring that people with disabilities will also be key players in the special body. All over the world the disability movement is asking for exactly this: that disabled people be included in any matters that involve them. However, it doesn’t only end there.

The minister must be very careful with whom she chooses. The special representatives must come from a wide and varied background in order for her task force to be effective. For example, a person with a spinal injury, for instance, will not be able to fully understand the needs of someone with Parkinson’s disease or some other neurological condition although they may both use wheelchairs for mobility.

The disabled NGOs invited to participate must possess a good track record in fulfilling their objectives and not ‘sleeping ones’ that have hardly made any difference in the lives of their members that they are supposed to serve. And it is vital that their work must involve the disabled poor in rural areas.

One good organisation to work with is the Independent Living and Training Centre in Rawang Selangor. This non-profit society is run by disabled people themselves, headed by a tetraplegic.

The writer is president, Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association (PetPositive).

More reports on disabled at Parliament to follow - PET+BLOGSPOT

APOLOGY REJECTED BY DISABLED - Malaysiakini

Pasir Mas Independent MP Ibrahim Ali today apologised to the handicapped community if he had offended them over the remarks he made to Karpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Gelugor) in Parliament recently.

The apology, however, was rejected by an organisation for the disabled after Ibrahim insisted that he would not apologise to Karpal personally.

Ibrahim showed up at a press conference at Parliament House today by about 20 disabled persons from the Malaysian Against the Discrimination of the Disabled (Madd) grouping and several opposition MPs.

The press conference was to submit a memorandum of protest against Ibrahim’s remark to Karpal on Tuesday during Parliamentary sitting. The Independent MP had chided Karpal for sitting when addressing the House and that he (Karpal) should have asked for the Speaker’s permission to do so.

Ibrahim’s remark sparked off anger among the disabled community which said his remark was insensitive as Karpal has been wheelchair-bound following a car accident several years ago.

"I never offended you but if you interpret that it hurt you, then I beg for an apology," Ibrahim told the group and the accompanying opposition MPs.

Upon hearing this, those present cheered. There were smiles and clapping all round when Ibrahim added that he loved the disabled ‘from the bottom of my heart’ and had proposed to the government to grant a flat-rate RM500 allowance for the disabled.

Four-point memo

However, the group’s joy was short-lived when Ibrahim then went on to say that he would not apologise to Karpal.

"I won’t apologise! You cannot force me!" he said, when the crowd yelled at him to apologise personally to the Bukit Gelugor MP.

Ibrahim, however, remained obstinate telling the group that they could not ‘politicise this for the benefit of the opposition party’.

After much yelling and shouting between both the parties, Ibrahim stormed off leaving a black cloud over the disabled group.

A Madd spokesperson said they would not accept the apology as they requested it on behalf of all the disabled irrespective of whether they were politicians or not.

In their memorandum submitted to Parliamentary Opposition Leader Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ibrahim (PKR-Permatang Pauh), Madd demanded that:

• Ibrahim Ali apologise immediately and unconditionally to all handicapped Malaysians
  
  
• no discriminatory remarks be uttered in Parliament
  
  
• disciplinary action be taken against any MP who breaks the above rule and
  
  
• the Persons with Disabilities Act 2007 be amended to include penalties against those who breach its provisions.

The MPs present at the press conference today were Gwo-Burne Loh (PKR-Kelana Jaya), Gobind Singh Deo (DAP-Segambut), Teo Nie Ching (DAP-Serdang), Mohd Yusmadi Mohd Yusoff (PKR-Balik Pulau), Tian Chua (PKR-Batu) and Lim Lip Eng (DAP-Segambut).

END.

Look out for more reports soon - PET+BLOGSPOT

BREAKING NEWS: PETPOSITIVE IN PARLIAMENT

PETPOSITIVE BREAKING NEWS!

Around 30 disabled Malaysians, all of them physically disabled, handed a memorandum to opposition leader Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail calling for an immediate end to discrimination of the disabled by members of parliament.

Petpositive was one of the key players in the exercise.

Here is an early report by The Star on today's events that took place in the media centre of Parliament House after noon.

More reports to follow soon. (Catch all the latest on ntv7, TV3 today and the print media tomorrow.)

PET+BLOGSPOT

Thursday May 8, 2008 MYT 6:27:32 PM

Ibrahim apologises to disabled, but not to Karpal Singh

By PAUL CHOO

KUALA LUMPUR: A commotion broke out in the Parliament lobby Thursday when Datuk Ibrahim Ali (Independent - Pasir Mas) stormed out of a meeting with a group of disabled people demanding for his apology to Karpal Singh at the Parliament lobby at noon.

The group, known as Malaysians Against the Discrimination of the Disabled (MADD), urged Ibrahim to retract insulting statements he made against Karpal recently when he asked the latter to stand when speaking in Dewan Rakyat.

Ibrahim had apologised to the group initially for hurting their feelings over the remarks he made in the Dewan Rakyat to Karpal.

However, he refused to say sorry to Karpal.

"My problem was with Karpal Singh and never with all of you. I have never offended you and I love disabled people from the bottom of my heart.

"But if you all have misinterpreted my meaning, I extend my sincerest apologies.

"I hope you don't misunderstand this because there are groups trying to take advantage of you," he said, referring to several Pakatan Rakyat leaders, Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Lim Lip Eng, Loh Gwo Burne, Gobind Singh Deo and others, who had escorted the group into Parliament.

Ibrahim even added that he would propose that the Government allocate a RM500 monthly allowance to the disabled. This was greeted with cheers.

A huge spat soon ensued, however, when Lim Lip Eng (DAP - Segambut) questioned Ibrahim if he would offer a similar apology to Karpal Singh.

To this, Ibrahim shouted: "No! No! No!"

"I will not apologise to Karpal. You cannot force me. I will not apologise for the benefit of the Opposition party," he retorted, and stormed off from the meeting."

In response, the group shouted back at him: "What if you are disabled one day?"

A representative from MADD later handed over a memorandum to Opposition Leader Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

Last week, Ibrahim critised Karpal for not standing up to speak when Bung Mokhtar and Karpal were engaged in a heated exchange of insults in the Dewan Rakyat.

END

Who Is Disabled?

PETPOSITIVE COMMENT:

DATUK IBRAHIM ALI who infuriated the disabled community for his remarks on Karpal Singh in Parliament House on April 30, last month, spoke to The Star about the matter yesterday.

He was quoted in the English newspaper this morning as saying that he has "no problem" with the handicapped because according to him, he "contributes at lot (for them) in his constituency".

The MP for Pasir Mas went on to say that his remarks to Karpal had nothing to do with the disabled. "I never meant to humiliate (them)", he was quoted by The Star as saying.

"I only targeted Karpal Singh . . . (who) should have asked for permission to speak from the chair (without standing up) before he speaks.

"I did not know that he is also a OKU (disabled person)", he concluded.

It is hard to go any further on this matter as the story has changed now.

According to the report it appears now as if Ibrahim had not asked or expected Karpal to stand up at all.

Is this true or are the facts being modified?

However, I do have a problem with one of his remark in his new statement to the Press.

He says that he did not know that Karpal is also an OKU.

Now, what does that mean?

Is Ibrahim trying to deny the disabled status of the DAP MP? If that is so, then I must say that it is rather absurd of him to do so because everyone knows that Karpal uses a wheelchair for mobility nowadays.

Disabled Peter Tan, in his Weblog, even goes to the extent of describing Karpal as a tetrapegic - one paralysed from his neck down! If this is true, then Karpal Singh's disability is permanent.

He certainly cannot qualify to be an able-bodied person for that.

However, even if his condition is a temporary one, he is currently disabled. No question about that.

As for Ibrahim, the question can be asked if the YB is perhaps also disabled or blind in some way for not having noticed his wheelchair.

My other concerns over Ibrahim's remark are whether he is trying to imply that Karpal cannot be disabled; or even imply that Karpal can never be brought down to the level of the handicapped.

Perhaps Ibrahim should clarify on these matters too.

A last word: It's good to know that the independent MP has, at least, been supporting disabled persons under his constituency.

What is more important now I think is for Ibrahim to start showing his support for the disabled community in Parliament.

And I'd really watch my words very, very carefully from now on as an MP.

aNt PET+BLOGSPOT

Discrimination In Parliament House

PETPOSITIVE UPDATE!

DATELINE - PUCHONG, SELANGOR. SUNDAY:

LEADERS OF THREE DISABILITY ORGANISATIONS got together over the weekend to discuss the recent incident where at least one parliamentarian had made a remark about disability which has angered many handicapped Malaysians.

The able-bodied parliamentarian was reported to have said to another seated in a wheelchair that he ought to have asked permission to stand up at the session before he could comment on an issue.

This was not the first time that such a discriminatory remark about the disabled was uttered in Parliament House. The same disabled parliamentarian was told by another elected representative sometime last year that he was in a wheelchair because God had put him there.

That first statement eventually drew an outcry from some influential members of the House. The parliamentarian was made to apologise for his remarks.

The latest remarks, however, has not drawn any apology to date.

"We are really concerned when such negative remarks are made by our Parliamentarians," said Kennedy Hong, President of the Society of Chinese Disabled Persons of Malaysia (SCDPM) where the meeting was held.

"What does such behaviour say to our young people today?" He asked. Hong uses a wheelchair for mobility.

"We should be inculcating values that encourage everyone to respect the elderly and the disabled," echoed Alan Tan, the SCDPM's Deputy President.

Secretary of the Independent Living and Training Centre (ILTC) in Rawang, Selangor, Gurdip Kaur said: "I feel extremely sad that the disabled are forever amongst the most vulnerable in our society when in fact what we need are strong laws to protect our dignity and rights as handicapped Malaysians."

Francis Siva - ILTC President - also voiced his dissatisfaction. He questioned the efficacy of the Disabled Act which was passed in Parliament recently.

"Can we use that law now to protect our rights?" he asked.

The two hour meeting was also attended by Anthony Thanasayan and his assistance dog, Soo.

Expressing his views, the President of the Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association (PETPOSITIVE) observed: "It's a pity that the that the "disabled" are rarely mentioned in Parliament.

"And when it happens, it is for a negative purpose."

Leaders of the three non profit organisations are currently brainstorming ways on how they can best sensitize our elected representatives about the real issues confronting handicapped persons in our society.

Kindly watch this space for more developments on this story.

Click HERE to read more.

PET+BLOGSPOT

PREJUDICE IN PARLIAMENT - AGAIN! (Malaysiakini)

QUICK COMMENT: And so, another insult is reportedly hurled at the Democratic Action Party's (DAP) Member of Parliament Mr Karpal Singh in Parliament House in Kuala Lumpur today.

This time, however, it is not from a Barisan Nasional MP but rather an independent one from Pasir Mas named Ibrahim. He is said to have questioned why Karpal had not asked for permission from the House to allow the DAP strongman to speak without having to stand up.

The incident was also highlighted in another DAP MP Tony Pua's (Pix, right) blog today (Philosophy, Politics, Economics).

Asking someone to stand up when he or she is in a wheelchair is indeed a terrible insult. It is the same as to expect any human being to fly.

It is utterly shameful for anyone, let alone a YB, to have said such a thing.

Does he not have elderly parents, an aunt or relative who is sick or disabled? What if he faces an unfortunate situation one day and finds himself in the mercies of others to help him?

Having said that, we are yet, not totally surprised that such words can come out of the mouths of persons who sit and debate issues in the highest house of our land.

It just proves that whether we want to admit it or not, prejudice towards the disabled very much exists in our country - a nation that we would all like to pride ourselves by calling our society a caring one.

PETPOSITIVE can only hope that every time such an incident rears its ugly head again in Parliament, our elected representative, both new and old, will take swift action to confront such prejudice and bury the hatchet once and for all.

aNt
PET+BLOGSPOT

MALAYSIAKINI REPORT:

FIERY START TO PARLIAMENT

The Dewan Rakyat today kicked off with a fiery question-and-answer session where top opposition parliamentarians crossed swords with both the speaker and Barisan Nasional backbenchers.

The temperature went up few notches during the 90-minute session after a number of controversial rulings from speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia and an 'unparliamentary remark' from Ibrahim Ali (Independent-Pasir Mas) which drew heckles from the opposition Pakatan Rakyat MPs.

The first 30 minutes of the Q&A session was telecast live through state-owned RTM for the first time.

From the onset, the Q&A session was delayed by 20 minutes after Karpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Gelugor) cited the standing orders to question certain BN leaders who failed to raise their hand during the swearing-in ceremony on Monday.

A shouting match ensued when the speaker said he had already made his decision - that all MPs were sworn in lawfully.

As first-time MP Gobind Singh Deo (DAP-Puchong) jumped to the defence of his father Karpal, backbenchers led by Bung Moktar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan) booed and demanded the proceedings to continue.

During the shouting match, the MPs traded insults with Karpal branding Bung Moktar "bigfoot" while the latter called the former "big monkey."

"If I am bigfoot, you are big monkey," Bung Moktar told Karpal when the DAP leader told the backbencher not to disrupt the proceedings.

Speaker not following precedent

At this juncture, Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak) referred to the standing order and questioned why Pakatan Rakyat MPs were not given their fair share during the question hour.

He also complained that Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PKR-Permatang Puah), who has been appointed opposition leader, should have been the first to pose questions in the new parliament.

But Pandikar argued that he was using his discretion as House speaker to decide on who shall pose the first question.

"It is not stated in the standing order (that the opposition leader must speak first)," said the speaker, adding that he was only informed of Wan Azizah being made the new opposition leader through an official letter yesterday.

At the beginning of the session this morning, the speaker affirmed Wan Azizah as the new opposition leader after being informed that Pakatan MPs had given this their unanimous support.

When calm was restored 20 minutes later, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took the first question from Razali Ibrahim (BN-Muar) and answered at length on the government’s approach to improving the quality of life in Malaysia.

However, another shouting match followed when Pandikar said he would not allow any supplementary questions to be raised on the grounds that Abdullah’s answer was sufficient.

Under the standing orders, up to three supplementary questions can be asked for each question.

Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timor) protested, saying this was unprecedented and that such an action would render the premier’s presence in the House "pointless."

"This is a conspiracy to silent the opposition MPs," said the veteran politician, to which opposition MPs thumped the tables in support.

As the debate between the speaker and the Pakatan MPs ensued, Abdullah interjected and appealed to the speaker to consider one or two supplementary questions.

The speaker finally relented and allowed one supplementary question which went to Abdul Hadi Awang (PAS-Marang).

Wheelchair-bound Karpal attacked

Another commotion erupted moments later when Independent MP Ibrahim questioned why Karpal, who is wheelchair-bound, did not ask permission from the House to allow him to speak without having to stand up.

This led Azmin and Fong Po Kuan (DAP-Batu Gajah) to demand the sole independent MP who contested on a PAS ticket to retract the statement.

"When people speak, I never disturb them. After speaking just a little bit, she (Fong) goes melenteng (shoots her mouth off)," said Ibrahim.

Turning to Fong, who was still speaking, he said: "Shut up."

"I am an independent member of parliament. Even when my name was raised just now, I did not say anything. I behaved. I did not speak just now just because I wanted to be a world-class parliamentarian. That’s all," he added.

Ibrahim, who was warned by the speaker to refrain from using ‘unparliamentary words’, also refused to apologise when asked to do so by Azmin.

"What unparliamentary words have I used? I just said shut-up. The word shut up in Malay means diam."

Shifting his focus to Karpal, Ibrahim said: "You insulted certain people just now. From time to time when people insult you, accept it. Just be a gentleman.

"I agree with the speaker, but who is it that is being un-parliamentarian? This whole past hour is just because all these people want to get on TV. That’s all!"

Word-limit issue

Later on, Bandar Kuching MP Chong Chieng Jen stirred another commotion when he pointed out that the second question - posed by Bung to Rural and Regional Development Minister Muhammad Muhd Taib exceeded the 40-word limit.

"I counted, there are 50 words," he said, calling on the speaker to nullify the question.

This riled up the BN backbenchers who questioned Chong if he had really counted the number of words in Bung’s question.

Following this, Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin joined in the fray. He said the opposition leader herself had exceeded the word-limit in her question to the finance minister.

"I have already counted the words in the question of Opposition leader Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and there are more than 50," he said.

"This proves the hypocrisy of the opposition who do not count the words in their own questions ... (It’s a case of) double standards! The pot calling the kettle black!"

The speaker, who was struggling to set the House in order, repeatedly called on the MPs to focus on the issues and not be sidetracked.

"I won’t entertain anymore trivial requests ... I have to ensure the smooth running of the session," he said.

In the end, only three questions were asked during the 90-minute session as opposed to at least 10 if the session had proceeded uninterrupted.

Review telecast

Outside the House later, PAS deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa (PAS-Bachok) said Ibrahim is an independent MP although he had contested on a PAS ticket.

Due to this, he said, Ibrahim is not confined by the party’s whip and is not involved in the discussions or meetings of Pakatan MPs.

On the other hand, the Kinabatangan MP also greeted Karpal outside the House.

"I was surprised why you suddenly called me a bigfoot," Bung told the DAP national chairperson who did not reply.

After the rowdy session, a disappointed Information Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek said the ministry would review whether or not to continue the live telecast.