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No need for
mediator, says Chua
KUALA LUMPUR: MCA deputy president
Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said yesterday
there is no need for anyone to mediate in
the “feud” between him and party president
Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat.
Chua said what is important is to close
ranks and move forward.
“If we really want to work, no need for
a third person to be a mediator. We are not
small boys,” he told a press conference at
Wisma MCA here.
“We claim to be the second largest
political party in the country and if
(we) don’t know how to work between
two people and need a third person to
intervene, then I think it is a sad day for
MCA.”
He was asked to comment on news
reports that MCA’s new treasurer-general,
Tan Sri Tee Hock Seng, had volunteered to
mediate in the feud.
Chua said in order to achieve real
BN MP told to retract word
after shouting match
by Husna Yusop
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
KUALA LUMPUR: A motion to cut the salary of
Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin
Hussein by RM10 turned into a shouting match
yesterday when a backbencher used a deroga-
tory word at an opposition MP.
However, after being told by Deputy Speaker
Datuk Ronald Kiandee, Datuk Tajuddin Abdul
Rahman (BN-Pasir Salak) retracted the word
‘keling’ which he had used to refer to M. Kulase-
garan (DAP-Ipoh Barat).
At that time, Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing
(BN-Bintulu) was debating the motion, brought
by Teo Nie Ching (DAP-Serdang), calling for
Hishammuddin’s pay to be deducted as she
claimed he had failed to deliver his promises to
build new Chinese schools.
Tiong had brought up the issue of the
proposed ban on the selling of liquor in public
premises in Selangor and this was followed by
protests from the opposition MPs, with some of
them claiming the issue was out of topic.
Chong Chieng Jen (DAP-Bandar Kuching)
then mentioned a police report made by a girl
against an MP and asked whether the MP was
Tiong.
This angered Tiong, who asked Chong to
repeat the accusation outside the house. And
the situation got heated.
When Kulasegaran stood up to interject,
Tajuddin said to him: “Duduklah, keling!”
This further annoyed the opposition MPs and
Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak) stood and asked the
deputy speaker to take action against Tajuddin
“as he has always been using unparliamentary
words but managed to escape from any kind
of action”.
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airline portals worldwide
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worldwide, and also need not pay fees to travel
agents to book airline seats.
Select the airplane icon on the website
and it will lead you to a list of airline company
portals grouped in their respective countries.
Licensed travel agent Eddie Kok came up
with this solution to the problem of frequent
phone calls from the public seeking information
about airline portals’ addresses.
theSun | THURSDAY NOVEMBER 27 2008
cooperation there must be sincerity.
“It cannot be just a political statement.
And sincerity can be reflected by your
action. This cooperation is not a question
of Tee Keat wins and Chua loses or Chua
wins and Tee Keat loses,” he said.
“If we do not cooperate, the whole party
loses.”
The perceived fued between the two
leaders started after the appointments for
key party posts were announced on Nov 11
following party elections.
Chua, a former health minister, was not
appointed to key positions such as the state
chairman or head of the party’s disciplinary
board.
Instead, he was appointed as the head
of MCA’s government policy monitoring
bureau.
Ong, the transport minister, appointed
himself as the Johor liaison chief, a post
previously held by Chua. – Bernama
Kiandee asked Tajuddin to retract the word
but Tajuddin claimed he used it because Kulase-
garan “always likes to act according to his whims
and fancy”.
“I don’t want to retract. These people (the op-
position members), especially Ipoh Barat, always
like to do whatever they want. Why is it that he
can talk like that? He is the one who is being
disrespectful,” he said.
Kiandee said that unlike Tajuddin, the other
MPs did not use words which could hurt the
feelings of others, so Tajuddin should apologise
or retract the word.
“Why should I apologise?” Tajuddin asked but
was advised by Datuk Mohamad Aziz (BN-Sri
Gading) to follow Kiandee’s instruction.
Tajuddin retracted the word but not before
insisting that on Tuesday, Karpal Singh (DAP-
Bukit Gelugor) had also challenged the speaker
but no action was taken against him.
Tajuddin was involved in another exchange
just 10 minutes later when, while debating the
motion, he called Azmin ‘biol’ (stupid).
Azmin immediately stood and said: “Pasir
Salak is crossing the limit. If it is once or twice, it
is still okay. But, everytime he opens his mouth,
he will say something off limits. He has no respect
at all for others.”
When Kiandee asked Tajuddin to retract the
word again, Tajuddin said: “Okay lah. Gombak is
good, clever, smart, cun (handsome), attractive,
and I withdraw the biol part.”
The house rejected the motion with a vote
among the MPs, which resulted in more ‘nays’
than ‘ayes’.
Before that, Deputy Education Minister Datuk
Dr Wee Ka Siong said it was unfair of the Opposi-
tion to keep blaming the government for doing
nothing except make empty promises.
‘RPK ignorant to call
Chin Peng freedom fighter’
SEREMBAN: Blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin
has been described as being ignorant of
history for assuming that the former sec-
retary-general of the Communist Party of
Malaya, Chin Peng, was a freedom fighter.
Negri Sembilan History Association
treasurer Mohd Misan Mastor said the Ma-
lays had fought colonialism since the fall of
the Malacca sultanate and throughout the
Portuguese, Dutch, British and Japanese
occupations.
“Chin Peng was not the first man who put
up the fight,” he told Bernama yesterday.
He was commenting on a recent talk
by Raja Petra, who said the country’s inde-
pendence was initiated by a non-Malay, and
that Chin Peng was a freedom fighter.