Tuesday July 22, 2008 MYT 6:59:07 PM
Penang accused of embezzling rakyat’s money
By CHRISTINA CHIN and NG SU ANN at the Penang State Assembly
GEORGE TOWN: Penang opposition leader Datuk Azhar Ibrahim caused an uproar in the House when he accused the Pakatan Rakyat state government of “embezzling” RM30mil.
“The state says that it is trying to save money by flying economy class and implementing austerity measures but it is actually embezzling the people’s money by not collecting the illegal hawking and parking compounds issued before March 8,” said the Penaga assemblyman who twice described himself as a “good guy” in his debate on the motion of thanks on the Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas’s speech.
State exco member Phee Boon Poh (DAP-Sungai Puyu) stood up to demand clarification from Azhar on how the state had embezzled the people’s money.
“The state’s duty is to collect the compounds but it did not, so that is menyelewenglah! Why are you taking care of those who are guilty? What about those who have paid, do they get a refund?” Azhar, who is state Umno secretary, retorted.
Phee then asked for a dictionary to clarify the meaning of the word, before urging the former for a retraction.
“We never received one sen of that money,” he said, to which Azhar replied, “Then where did the money go?”
Speaker Abdul Halim Hussain interjected, saying that the act did not constitute embezzlement.
Azhar claimed that he never accused the state of corruption (makan duit) and was referring to dereliction of duties.
Several Barisan Nasional and PR assemblymen joined the fray including Shabudin Yahya (BN-Permatang Berangan), Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahya (BN-Teluk Bahang), A. Tanasekharan (DAP-Bagan Dalam) and Jagdeep Singh Deo (DAP-Datuk Keramat).
Jagdeep Singh, who called for Azhar to retract the statement under Order 46 (13) (c) and (d) of the State Legislative Assembly’s Standing Order, challenged Azhar to deny that he had made the accusation.
Datuk Jasmin Mohamed (BN-Sungai Dua) interjected, claiming that subsection (c) was not proper, as the words uttered did not cause hurt.
“Anyone’s feelings hurt?” he asked, prompting most PR assemblymen present to raise their hands.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng urged Azhar to “be a gentleman” and admit that he had accused the state of embezzling money.
Tired of the bickering, Abdul Halim raised Order 28 and said that he would decide on whether Azhar should retract the statement.
“When I speak, you must all be quiet. Do not use the word menyeleweng any more. It is inappropriate,” he ruled.
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