Chaos erupts in Parliament as the opposition objects debate on Auditor- General's report

KUALA LUMPUR - The Dewan Rakyat session turned chaotic after opposition MPs objected to the proposal to debate the Auditor-General's Report 2021.

The atmosphere turned rowdy after MP's from the government bloc, insisted for the matter to be debated in the August house, as they wanted to know what had happened during the previous government's leadership.

The commotion increases as MPs from the government bloc, wanted to debate the matter in Dewan Rakyat to find out what had happened during the government's leadership then.

Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (PN-Kota Baru) said the move to debate the report had never been done before and the report was previously only laid on MPs' tables.

"Based on reviews and studies, the Auditor-General's report was never tabled for debate in Dewan Rakyat according to the provisions of Article 107 Clause 1.

"On that basis, we believe the motion to allow the 2021 Auditor-General's report to be discussed in Dewan Rakyat is against the rules of the meeting and the Constitution.

"Therefore, the opposition bloc requests the Dewan Rakyat Speaker to state what is the basis for the Auditor-General's report to be debated?" he questioned.

Takiyuddin's views on the matter was supported by Beluran MP Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee, in which he said only the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) should examine and act on the Auditor-General's report.

He explained the motion had denied and minimised the duties and roles of the PAC.

"Raise a private motion instead. Do not bring motions that is against the rules of the meeting," he said.

Meanwhile, Masjid Tanah MP Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin said the motion was considered irrelevant for debate as the new Auditor-General has yet to be appointed.

"The position is not filled yet but we are here wanting to debate on the National Audit Report. In order to discuss the content of the report, the person responsible needs to be present to answer questions about it," she explained.

However, Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim insisted that the motion should be debated to find out the country's expenditure at the time.

"Why are you afraid of tabling the National Audit Report in Parliament? Parliament must be transparent about the country's expenditure," he insisted

Jelutong MP RSN Rayer then claimed that the opposition deliberately refused to debate on it because there were financial leaks during the administration of the government under former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's leadership.

However, Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Alice Lau Kiong decided that the motion was allowed for debate.

As a result, Takiyuddin then suggested that only the parties involved can act based on the audit findings and recommendations contained in the report.

All MPs from the opposition bloc then stood up as a sign of agreement to the motion presented by Takiyuddin.