KUALA LUMPUR: Behave or no more live telecast. This is the first and last warning to members of parliament.

Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek yesterday announced that the Cabinet had decided to continue the broadcast of the question-and-answer session.

"We are deeply disappointed over Wednesday's events, especially the behaviour of opposition MPs.

"They wasted time on trivial issues, resulting in only one question being answered during the half-hour live session and only three during the entire 90 minutes, which normally would see 10 to 15 questions being answered.

"However, the Cabinet is of the opinion that it is too early to stop the broadcast of the proceedings.
"The live telecast will continue but it is subject to reviews on how much good it can bring to the country."

He said the Barisan Nasional whip would ensure the discipline of BN MPs and appealed to opposition MPs to do the same.

"This should be treated as a last chance by all MPs. We have to protect Parliament."

He dismissed concerns that cancelling the live broadcast would render the RM1 million worth of camera equipment in the House redundant, saying that the damage to the country's image, should there be a repeat of the debacle, would be worse.

"The people's trust is priceless. When they see that it is not major issues that are being discussed, but inconsequential things like the raising of hands during oaths, they will start questioning the representatives they voted into Parliament."

He conceded that there was a point to the argument that people deserved to see the behaviour of those they voted into office but insisted that the main reason for the parliamentarians' bad behaviour was the knowledge that they were on camera.

"They have never behaved so badly in the past. From the first question, and throughout the half hour, there was no interest in pursuing the questions they brought up."

Ahmad Shabery added that Parliament's sanctity should not be jeopardised simply to allow the rakyat to see the true colour of their representatives.

Wednesday's live broadcast was a fiasco, with MPs wasting time on trivial issues and calling each other names.

Gelugor MP Karpal Singh used up more than 20 minutes questioning why certain BNMPs did not raise their hands during Monday's swearing-in ceremony.

He later called Kinabatangan MP Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin "Bigfoot" and the latter retaliated by calling Karpal "big monkey".

Pasir Mas MP Ibrahim Ali also got into the act by questioning why the wheelchair-bound Karpal did not stand up to seek permission to speak.