'Gangster' word causes an hour ruckus in Parliament

KUALA LUMPUR: Just one day into the parliamentary proceedings, a ruckus broke out over the use of the word "gangster" by one lawmaker, which dragged on for almost an hour today.
The fracas started when Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh described the Umno Youth members who harassed and stopped his late father Karpal Singh from entering the Parliament in 2009 as "samseng" (gangsters).
This led to a shouting match between both sides in the August house, with members of the opposition demanding that the deputy speaker Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon ask Ramkarpal to retract his statement, claiming it was against the parliament's standing order 36(4) for using offensive language.
Mohd Rashid then ruled that Ramkarpal must retract his statement, to which the latter declined.
"I would like to stress that I was of the opinion, and still am, that the Umno Youth members who entered parliament and harassed my father are all gangsters. I'm just stating the fact. I can never accept this.
"With the greatest of respect to the speaker and the House, I will not retract my statement," he said.
Datuk Seri Ismail Mohamed Said (BN-Kuala Krau) then questioned if offensive words would be allowed in the dewan, which the speaker said no.
"If it is not allowed, then Bukit Gelugor must retract his statement," he said, with other Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs standing up and shouting 'tarik balik' (retract).
Tan Sri Annuar Musa (BN-Ketereh) argued that if a member of the house disobeyed a ruling by the speaker, action must be taken on the person, including ejecting from the dewan.
Remaining firm with his stand, Ramkarpal said: "If the house decides to eject me, then this will give a message to the whole world that the act of the Umno Youth members are not gangsterism.
"I respect the speaker, and I will accept whatever decision the speaker has to make on me," he said.
However, after much deliberation, Mohd Rashid said his ruling was only meant to serve as a warning, drawing dissatisfaction among opposition members who demanded Ramkarpal's ejection.
Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan (PAS-Kota Baru) lamented that if Ramkarpal was allowed to stay in the dewan, it would set a precedent of what was to come in the future.
After more shoutings from both sides, Mohd Rashid told those who were not happy with the ruling and declined to take their seats to leave the house, which none adhered to.
Close to an hour later, Mohd Rashid called for proceedings to adjourn for lunch at 1pm and asked that it be resumed at 2.30pm.