'Rasuah' gets assembly worked up

Written by Regina William
Monday, 27 April 2009 21:11

GEORGE TOWN: The word "rasuah" ("bribe") uttered during the winding-up
debate on the motion of thanks to Penang Governor Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas
got the Penang State Assembly into an unnecessary sideshow.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng (Air Putih-DAP) was explaining the land issue
involving state executive councillor Lim Hock Seng (Bagan Jermal-DAP) when
Datuk Jahara Hamid (Teluk Air Tawar-BN) questioned the procedure in the
return of a piece of land to Hock Seng.

"You said that we are looking for 'bones in an egg', but there is a
skeleton in your closet especially where the land deal is concerned," she
added.

Guan Eng explained that the land was originally owned by Hock Seng in the
1980s, but was washed away by erosion and when the land was reclaimed,
naturally it was returned to him as it was rightfully his.

"God taketh and God giveth, it was his to start with and the natural
process gave it back to him," he added.

Jahara said the land which was given to Hock Seng should have been charged
according to market rates, as that was the proper procedure.

Guan Eng then turned the tables on Jahara, asking her to explain about a
land matter involving the Safira Country Club, which Jahara is known to be
involved in since the club was started in the 1990s.

He went on to say that the land was also sold way below market rates.

Jahara accused Guan Eng of hitting below the belt and said the land was
zoned as recreation land and was on a short-term lease and warned Guan Eng
not to make baseless allegations.

At this point, while both Jahara and Guan Eng were engaged in a war of
words, one of the backbenchers shouted "rasuah".

This irked Jahara, who demanded an apology. The names RSN Rayer (Seri
Delima-DAP) and Tan Cheong Heng (Padang Lallang-DAP) were mentioned as the
culprits, but they denied involvement and demanded apologies.

Speaker Abdul Halim Hussin intervened, but still none of the backbenchers
owned up. Abdul Halim then said the Hansard would be referred to find the
culprit.

After lunch, Speaker Abdul Halim said the word "rasuah" was uttered, but
the person who said it did not use the microphone hence could not be
traced even with the CCTV recordings.

Jahara then said it only proved that the backbenchers were making
allegations without basis or proof.

This irked Jagdeep Singh Deo (Datuk Keramat-DAP), who insisted that Jahara
apologise for implicating all the backbenchers.

Abdul Halim then said he had given everyone equal opportunities to debate,
but there had been too many incidences of disruptions. "I have yet to use
the standing orders to evict anyone but I would not hesitate to do so," he
warned.

Jahara insisted she would not apologise until someone owned up.

This caused Guan Eng to say: "It is starting to sound like the Lingam
inquiry — sounds like him, looks like him and seems like him but it is not
him," he said in jest.

After lunch, Speaker Abdul Halim said the word "rasuah" was uttered, but
the person who said it did not use the microphone hence could not be
traced even with the CCTV recordings.

"If you had said it, you should stand up and take responsibility for it
instead of being irresponsible. I do not want this to drag on and I am
making a stand here. I want this to stop here and not be pursued further,"
he added.

The soft spoken Abdul Halim warned that there would no compromises if any
of the state assemblymen did not toe the line.

"If you have evidence, show proof and prosecute," she added.

Guan Eng who continued his winding up then told Jahara: "When you point a
finger at anyone, remember, the four fingers are pointing back to you, and
I am talking about the Safira Country Club," he added.