Half-past six or tiga suku?

Opposition leader Mr Lim Kit Siang asked the question in Parliament yesterday:-

"Is the parliament also half-past six? Are the ministers half-past six? Or perhaps we have half-past six MPs?" he said, adding these are serious issues which must be dealt with.

Lim reiterated his call to the government to be strict in the fight against corruption and to act on the 18 high-profile cases.

"Eighteen sharks had escaped into the ocean. How could this be? Where is the seriousness of the government? That is why we need the parliamentary select committees," he added.

**********

Half-past six or tiga suku (three quarters or is it quarter past three??), what does it matter?

Whether it is the Parliament, the Ministers or the MPs, it's all sama-sama sahaja (pretty much the same). And that goes for one State leader as well. Real tiga suku.

Just look at what happened in Parliament today:-


Shahrir quits as BBC chief after MPs failed to support an "integrity" motion
Husna Yusop

KUALA LUMPUR: Johor Baru MP Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad today (May 4, 2006) walked out of the Dewan Rakyat after his fellow backbenchers failed to back him to support an Opposition MP's motion to refer an integrity matter to the rights and privileges committee.

Shahrir then announced his resignation as Backbenchers Club (BBC) chairman in an impromptu media conference in Parliament lobby.

The drama unfolded soon after the morning session of Parliament started, with Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang (BN-Ipoh Timur) moving a privileges motion to refer an MP's case to the rights and privileges committee.

The MP, whose identity was not disclosed in a newspaper report today, had allegedly asked the Malacca Customs and Excise Department to "close one eye" in a case involving the import of illegal sawn timber.

Immediately, Opposition MPs stood up one after another to support the motion while several Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs voiced to reject the motion.

Shahrir shocked the House when he stood to say that he is supporting the motion because "we have to address the issue to maintain the integrity of parliamentarians and Parliament".

Speaker Tan Sri Ramli Ngah Talib then called for a vote on the motion and the majority of backbenchers rejected it.

Shahrir then walked out of the House and told reporters: "This is a matter concerning the integrity of MPs and Parliament. Even though it was an Opposition motion, we should support it for its importance to MPs and the House."

Later, Jasin MP Datuk Mohd Said Yusof held an impromptu media conference in Parliament lobby and admitted that he was the MP mentioned in the report.

Said said: "The matter was not as serious as reported. The company had tried to bring in sawn timber with a cross-section of more than 60 inches when only timber below such measurement is allowed into the country."

The Customs had rejected Said's request to show "leniency" to the company importing the timber.

BBC deputy head Datuk Raja Ahmad Zainuddin Raja Omar (BN-Larut) then called for an emergency lunch hour meeting and emerged later to tell reporters that "we have decided to try and persuade Datuk Shahrir not to quit but to continue to lead the club".

Rights and Privileges Committee chairman Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz and Raja Ahmad both appealed to Shahrir not to "resign in such a haste".

************

Shame, shame ... shame on all the BN MPs who stood up Shahrir in Parliament today. No wonder that guy was in tears!

Something's certainly brewing behind the scenes lately. A bitterest brew? And, I'm starting to wonder about the Nazri guy. Hmm ... there's something not quite right somewhere.

Like a wheel within a wheel, I'm getting dizzy already.