KUALA LUMPUR: A shouting match between Datuk Tiong King Sing (Bintulu-PDP) and RSN Rayer(PH-Jelutong) resulted in the latter being ejected from the Dewan Rakyat by Deputy Speaker Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said today.
Azalina had earlier ordered Rayer to take his seat as she wanted to make a ruling on Tiong’s remark.
When Rayer refused to do so despite being ordered repeatedly, she ordered the sergeant-of-arms to escort Rayer from Parliament.
She had asked Rayer to take his seat as she wanted to make a ruling on remarks made by Tiong about the Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah “being afraid of dying”.
“How am I going to make a ruling if you are standing up? Sit down! Jelutong, sit down!” Azalina said repeatedly.
Prior to Rayer being asked to leave during the Budget debate, a shouting match erupted between Tiong and Rayer for several minutes, when Tiong accused Noor Hisham of seeking publicity with his daily health briefings.
He had claimed that Noor Hisham’s daily briefings can be read by his office boy and questioned why he was not visiting hospitals to provide moral support to medical teams.
Tiong said the ministry has a weakness, claiming that frontliners on the ground are unhappy with Noor Hisham for not visiting them during the current outbreak.
Despite Rayer’s microphone being muted, he told Tiong not to criticise Noor Hisham and demanded he apologise for making such a statement.
Ramkarpal Singh (PH-Bukit Gelugor) also asked Tiong to withdraw the remark, Tiong said he was merely relaying the voices of the people and that he was not wrong to ask why Noor Hisham has not visited frontliners on the ground.
