PETALING JAYA: PKR vice-president Dr Zaliha Mustafa slammed Perikatan Nasional (PN) MPs for staging a walkout during the special Dewan Rakyat sitting on the Tabung Haji (TH) royal commission of inquiry (RCI) report today, dismissing it as a stunt.
The Sekijang MP said the walkout reflected PN’s lack of sincerity about debating the report despite its claim to be the defenders of Islam and the interests of Muslims in the country.
“Today, when Parliament’s doors are opened for them to ask questions, challenge, refute and debate the RCI’s findings, they chose to walk out.
“If there are findings by the RCI they disagree with, they should stand in the Dewan and argue with facts. If there are government decisions they want to question, they should do so in the Dewan. If there are parties they want to defend, they should defend them in their debates.
“More disappointingly, they did this when we’re debating a report that involves the management of funds belonging to TH depositors. This is no small issue and is not the right time for political stunts,” she said in a Facebook post.
Zaliha, a former minister, maintained that the Dewan Rakyat was the platform PN should be using if the opposition coalition was serious about defending the interests of Muslims.
“Don’t talk about transparency, trust, Islam and Muslim interests outside the Dewan only to end up walking out when it’s time to face the facts in the Dewan.”
Opposition chief whip Takiyuddin Hassan, the PN secretary-general, led a walkout after Dewan Rakyat Speaker Johari Abdul decided not to postpone proceedings.
PN had requested that the special sitting be convened at a later date since Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is recovering from surgery, could not attend.
