| Attempt To Refer PM To Select Committee Thwarted |
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KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 (Bernama) -- An attempt by opposition Member of Parliament Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (PAS-Kuala Selangor) to refer Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to the Parliamentary Select Committee for allegedly making a deviationary statement was turned down by the Dewan Rakyat Speaker.
Dr Dzulkefly, who was earlier dissatisfied with Najib's reply on the payment of oil royalty to Kelantan, claimed that the Prime Minister had given wrong facts on the condition for paying royalty to the states based on the Petroleum Development Act 1974.
"Under the Petroleum Development Act, there is no requirement stating that the petroleum must be obtained within three nautical miles offshore before the five per cent oil royalty could be paid to the states concerned.
"In fact, based on the Petronas Financial Report, the money paid to Sabah, Sarawak and Terengganu is called royalty and not compassionate payment," said Dr Dzulkefly who raised the matter as soon as the question and answer session concluded.
However, his attempt was thwarted by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia who explained that three conditions must be fulfilled before a Member of Parliament could be referred to the Select Committee.
"In any question and answer session, the reply given by anyone, including the Prime Minister, can be said to have deviated if it has three elements, namely the facts are actually wrong, the person replying knows that the facts are wrong and yet continues with his reply, and there is an intention to divert.
"To me, the reply from Yang Amat Berhormat the Prime Minister earlier did not breach any meeting procedure," he said, which drew protests from opposition MPs including Dr Dzulkefly, Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena) and M Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat).
In this context, Pandikar Amin said if they were not satisfied with his decision, they should follow house rules by submitting a resolution first before raising the matter in the house.
Pandikar Amin later said that his decision was final before making way for Datuk Idris Haron (BN-Tangga Batu) to begin his debate on the Supply Bill 2010.
-- BERNAMA
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