‘Insecure, pedantic, smart alec’: Chin Tong rains criticism on PN

‘Insecure, pedantic, smart alec’: Chin Tong rains criticism on PN

Published: Feb 27, 2024 6:18 PM


Liew Chin Tong had some choice words to describe Perikatan Nasional’s decision to stage a walkout from the Dewan Rakyat this afternoon.

Calling the opposition “insecure”, the DAP deputy secretary-general described their excuse for leaving before Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim delivered his ceremonial appreciation to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as “pedantic”.

“Usually, ministers announce policies and explain situations via a Statement to the Parliament which is generally presented in the morning but not necessarily so.

“The Statement to Parliament is meant to officially thank the previous Yang di-Pertuan Agong and to welcome the new Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

“This is to ensure the remarks of the parliamentary proceedings are recorded as this is the first parliamentary sitting since the new Yang di-Pertuan Agong took office.

“However, the smart alec opposition decided to nitpick the details about the morning and afternoon sessions, and then walked out of the Dewan Rakyat,” he said in a statement.

Liew (above), who is also the Iskandar Puteri MP, pointed out that Anwar could not attend Parliament this morning as he was hosting his Cambodian counterpart Hun Manet who is on his first official visit to Malaysia.

“I sincerely hope the opposition would spend more time working together with the government to improve the economy, reduce the people’s financial burden, and strive for a better Malaysia,” he added.

Before the walkout, opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin (PN-Larut) rose from his seat to protest the timing of Anwar’s speech, which he said should have been done earlier at the start of the Dewan Rakyat sitting this morning.

He claimed that no prime minister had delivered a speech after debates on the king’s decree had commenced.

“If (the prime minister) plans to deliver a speech to congratulate and thank the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, he should have done it earlier, before the motion (to debate Agong’s decree) is tabled.

“What are you trying to do by delivering a thank you speech now? We are already debating the decree, all of a sudden you want to stop it for a while to say thank you. For what?” he asked.