Kuala Lumpur, Nov 26 – The Dewan Rakyat today rejected a motion seeking to condemn the United States, Australia and Singapore over allegations of their spying on Malaysia.
Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia said the motion, brought by Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin (PKR-Bukit Katil), was rejected because he was made to understand that the Foreign Ministry had issued protest notes and summoned the envoys of the United States and Singapore for an explanation.
“Action has been taken. As such, there is no urgency. I reject the motion under Standing Order 18(1),” he said after question time in the house.
Pandikar Amin’s decision did not go down well with several opposition MPs. They wanted to know the latest development in the matter.
Datuk Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena) said the respective missions would have passed the protest note to their governments but if the spying continued, it was tantamount to violation of national sovereignty.
Tian Chua (PKR-Batu) asked Pandikar Amin to reconsider his decision, saying that not debating the issue would be seen as the house having failed to exert pressure on those countries.
Datuk Bung Moktar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan) said the opposition MPs should accept the decision of the speaker as it was final.
Pandikar Amin put the matter to rest when he said that rejection of the motion did not mean that the issue was unimportant, and called on the government to take a serious view of it.
–Bernama
