By TK Chua
I watched the Dewan Rakyat proceedings today and I didn’t feel good about what transpired.
New Malaysia or not, I think many of the MPs from both sides of the divide are still wallowing in their one-upmanship mentality.
I think the victors have shown arrogance and vengeance while the losers have shown obstinate defiance and a craving for attention.
Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker Mohd Rashid Hasnon, because of his inexperience, was totally helpless in controlling the situation.
As I watched the proceedings, the whole House was a total disgrace, not what we would generally expect of a vibrant democracy respecting the freedom of speech. It was as if provocation was deliberately staged to get an equally abrasive response from the other side of the aisle.
Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh could have conveyed the same message to the House without using the crass words. He could have sought justice for the late Karpal Singh without creating so much ill will and hatred. There are so many ways to skin a cat, so to speak.
I guess some Pakatan Harapan (PH) MPs are never far from being arrogant and smug. They think this is their time to “rub it in” on others.
The losers, on the other hand, are like wounded tigers longing to pounce on innocent prey, which in this case is the inexperienced and hapless deputy speaker.
They acted as if they had lost a limb when the whole world could see their hypocrisy and posturing.
Sometimes I find it a lost cause to ask ordinary Malaysians to be inclusive and harmonious when our MPs are so racial, parochial and extreme. I wish to remind Ramkarpal and Jelutong MP RSN Rayer to be more conciliatory.
PH must set its own ethos and paradigm.
TK Chua is an FMT reader.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
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