KUALA LUMPUR: The Dewan Rakyat descended into chaos when the issue of a law to tackle fake news was raised today.
The sharp back-and-forth exchanges that lasted nearly an hour was triggered as soon as Datuk Bung Moktar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan) began the debate after opposition leader Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail had wrapped up her debate.
The debate was on the address by Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Muhammad V during the opening of the sixth meeting of the 13th Parliament here on Monday.
Bung Moktar raised the issue of the spread of fake news, especially by opposition leaders during political ceramah which were allegedly meant to incite the people.
“In the meantime before this new Act (to tackle fake news) comes into being, let them (opposition) spread fake news, because I believe that the people would not be affected by their acts,” he said.
Bung Moktar then launched into a Bahasa Malaysia pantun that sought to describe the opposition’s apparent foendness for spreading fake news:
“Apa diharap padi seberang,
Entah dimakan pipit melayang,
Apa diharap parti pembangkang,
Banyak bohong lagi temberang.”
Bung’s statement - rejecting claims that Malaysia is going bankrupt, given the fact that many of its citizens had gone on holidays abroad last year - was challenged by Tian Chua (PKR-Batu) by making a reference to the recent seizure of a luxury yatch by Indonesian authorities.
“This is the example of an opposition leader who is trying to spread fake news. No court has so far confirmed that it belonged to a Malaysian citizen,” said Bung Moktar.
The resulting war of words attracted other Barisan Nasional (BN) members of parliament to chime in, among them Datuk Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah (BN-Lenggong), Datuk Dr Makin @ Marcus Mojigoh (BN-Putatan), Datuk Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali (BN-Bagan Serai) and Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing (BN-Bintulu).
The heated exchange also drew in other opposition MPs like Teresa Kok (DAP-Seputeh), R. Sivarasa (PKR-Subang) and Nga Kor Ming (DAP-Taiping).
Bung Moktar also dragged in opposition leaders like Rafizi Ramli (PKR-Pandan), who claimed to have unearthed evidence of government misappropriation such as the National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp), despite the issue being addressed in the Auditor-General’s Report.
“Rafizi has been beaten, Batu (Tian Chua) also. The government has investigated every matter. The Sabah water scandal, the Ijok land issue.
“Even Umno people were probed and not just the opposition. This action (investigation) ‘bukan pilih bulu’ (is not one sided),” he said.
During the verbal altercation, Makin said that many opposition supporters in Sabah had left their related political parties due to them losing faith in DAP and PKR.
“This is because Sabahans are intelligent, not stupid. The opposition are ‘pembuyuk’ (liar), and ‘tukang temberang’ (liars),” said Bung Moktar.
The Dewan Rakyat reverberated with laughter when Tian Chua stood up and opposed the use of the word ‘pembuyuk’ as the word purportedly was not in line with Parliamentary regulation.
Meanwhile, Bung Moktar also claimed that opposition leaders have been left in disarray following an admission by Dr Tan Seng Giaw (DAP-Kepong) that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is not involved in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) issue.
“The opposition keep asking why there is no investigation (over the 1MDB issue). I think the opposition has reached a stage where they have exhausted issues on how to confuse the people.
“I am proposing that the government introduce politics syllabus to secondary school students in order to expose young minds to political knowledge,” he said.
* Reports by NAZURA NGAH; HIDIR REDUAN; FAIRUL ASMAINI MOHD PILUS; VEENA BABULAL; LUQMAN ARIF ABDUL KARIM , AHMAD SUHAEL ADNAN