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Speaker urged to take action against Kapar MP over Menu Rahmah remarks

KUALA LUMPUR: Bandar Kuching member of parliament (MP) Dr Kelvin Yii has urged the Dewan Rakyat to refer Dr Halimah Ali to the Parliament's Rights and Privileges Committee for allegedly misleading the house.

Dr Yii, through a letter submitted to the Dewan Rakyat speaker today, said he wanted the Kapar MP to be referred to the committee over her remarks linking Menu Rahmah to cancer, autism and autoimmune diseases.

"In her debate of the king's speech, she said 'the Menu Rahmah movement, I do not want the Bottom 40 group to be exposed to diseases like cancer, autoimmune disease, or autism'.

"The statement is untrue and irresponsible because it is not only not based on facts and science but can also cause misunderstanding and stigma against the autistic and disabled community in Malaysia.

"Her statement gives a wrong impression to the public, resulting in people to think that autism is caused by poor care and determined by your level of income," he said today.

Dr Yii added that Dr Halimah, who is an MP and member of the medical fraternity, must be mindful and responsible with her words.

He said she must not allow her remarks to feed into unproven conspiracies or pseudo-science arguments that were not evidence-based or backed by science.

"The Kapar MP was given many opportunities to apologise and withdraw her statement.

"Even with public criticism, including a rebuke from the Autism Inclusiveness Direct Action Group, she continues to mislead both the public and the house.

"She continues to deny it in several public statements, including a statement in the house again by denying that such a statement was ever uttered and asking the house to refer to the Hansard to prove that the statement was never spoken.

"However, according to the Hansard on Feb 14, including a video recording of Parliament, such a statement was clearly spoken in the house," he added.

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