Chin Peng set to “haunt” Parliament tomorrow
Eileen Ng, TMI
Parliament will convene tomorrow for the second time since the general election, and with the spectre of former communist leader Chin Peng hanging over it, many Members of Parliament are bound to raise Putrajaya’s refusal to allow his ashes to be brought back and interred.
The presence of several opposition lawmakers at Chin Peng’s wake will provide fodder for the Barisan Nasional backbenchers who are bound to raise a heckle and try to link DAP to the communist party.
Party members who attended the Bangkok wake of the former Communist Party of Malaya secretary-general said they were there on their own accord.
Klang MP Charles Santiago said he was in Bangkok for a meeting with non-governmental organisations and took the opportunity to drop by at the Wat That Thong temple where Chin Peng’s remains lay.
The Star reported yesterday that the second-term DAP MP was seen kneeling and holding a joss stick at a floral dais inside the air-conditioned hall where the sealed casket bearing Chin Peng’s remains was placed.
Together with Santiago were Selangor DAP committee member and former senator S. Ramakrishnan and Aliran exco member Sarajun Hoda. Also seen at the wake, but at a different time, were Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi and PKR Batu MP Tian Chua.
This may not provide the Minister in charge of parliamentary affairs Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, the peaceful meeting he craves for, after being exhausted with the last meeting.
“I hope the House will continue to be peaceful,” he told reporters wearily at a function this week.
Shahidan will also find himself under the spotlight in the wake of reports that his daughter was working for him in a “gazetted government post”, a position the administration said should not be held by family members.
Chin Peng’s death is not the only issue which has riled up Malaysians.
Equally controversial are the Sri Pristina school issue, Putrajaya’s compensation to the two Automatic Enforcement System (AES) concessionaires, the softening of the economy, the Bumiputera Economic agenda and the ongoing Bersih People’s Tribunal on electoral fraud.
The spike in violent crime, which includes the murder of Arab Malaysia Bank founder Hussain Ahmad Najadi in July, has culminated in calls for the return of draconian laws to rein in criminals.
Both sides of the political divide are bound to set Parliament alive with these issues.
“While we cannot simply discuss any issues this time because the topic is strictly confined to the debate of Bills, expect MPs to find ways to weave it in, either during Question Time or during the course of the debate,” said DAP’s Kulai MP Liew Chin Tong.
