While she had initially allowed several MPs to interject during her speech, Siti Zailah later chose not to give the floor time for any more interruptions as she was running out of time to finish her speech.
M Karupaiya (PH-Padang Serai), Nor Azrina Surip (PH-Merbok) and Fuziah Salleh (PH-Kuantan) rose to interject, saying they had issues related to her ministry that they wanted to raise.
“Padang Serai, Padang Serai. It’s about women’s welfare. Just for a while … it’s just a proposal,” Karupaiya said repeatedly, drowning out his fellow opposition MPs and the deputy minister as she continued with her speech.
As soon as she had finished her speech, Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Mohd Rashid Hasnon turned off everyone’s microphones and said the deputy minister was allowed to choose not to allow interjections since it was her floor.
“The rest will get written replies. Next, I want to invite the communications and multimedia minister or his deputy,” he said.
Hannah Yeoh (PH-Segambut) then stood up to tell Rashid to look at the state of proceedings, adding that MPs’ debates seemed to be meaningless.
Rashid then told deputy communications and multimedia minister Zahidi Zainul Abidin to begin his speech.
Undaunted, Yeoh said: “You’re making a mockery of Parliament. We can’t ask questions while the written answers are meaningless. If everyone comes just to read a script, anyone can be a minister. And questions should not be treated as attacks.”
She told Rashid they were debating the 12th Malaysia Plan and this was “not a reading class”. Yeoh was supported by Fuziah, Mohamed Hanipa Maidin (PH-Sepang) and Kasthuri Patto (PH-Batu Kawan).
In the meantime, Zahidi ignored what was going on in the hall and continued his speech.
Earlier, Kasthuri had asked Siti Zailah to elaborate on the ministry’s initiatives to help mothers return to the working world. The deputy minister responded that she was just getting to the point in her speech where she could reply to her.
She said the ministry had implemented several programmes with the Social Security Organisation (Socso) to help 171,000 new mothers return to work since 2020.
“This is what you were asking about, but I couldn’t answer because you were attacking me,” said Siti Zailah. Kasthuri denied she had “attacked” her.