KUALA LUMPUR: DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang has been described as “insolent” over his statement which was deemed to be disrespectful towards the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V.
This follows the opposition leader’s statement at a press conference today, where he appeared to question the royal address by the King at the opening of the first meeting of the sixth sitting of the 13th Parliamentary session on Monday.
Lim, who is also Gelang Patah Member of Parliament, had stated that he was “disappointed” with the royal address, which he regarded as a “policy speech” by the government under Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s leadership.
Hulu Terengganu Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Jailani Johari said Lim’s statement displayed his insolent attitude, and that he had no respect for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the royal institution.
“By rights, when the Yang di-Pertuan Agong makes a royal address, he (Lim) should concur. He should have taken the opportunity to debate on the motion of thanks not make comments out of Dewan Rakyat to criticise his speech.
“We also noticed that when the Yang di-Pertuan Agong was making his address, there were members of parliament (from the opposition) who were talking among themselves. Some also did not adhere to the parliament dress code. This is a prime example of their insolence,” he said.
Sekijang Member of Parliament, Anuar Abd Manap, called for Lim to be investigated under the Sedition Act 1948 over his statement, which he deemed to be insulting to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
He said Lim’s statement made it seem as if the Yang di-Pertuan Agong was seeking to “play politics” with an address that purportedly sided with the government.
“The address had no political rhetorics; instead it touched on the cost of living, education and the economy, all of which are factual.
“Do not politicise His Majesty’s address. It is obvious that the opposition are afraid of the Barisan Nasional’s (BN) strength to the point that they assume that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is playing politics. There was nothing wrong with the royal address,” he said.
Lenggeng Member of Parliament, Datuk Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah, said Lim’s statement reflected his political immaturity.
“I would also like to ask on the position adopted by the Pagoh Member of Parliament (Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin) or other Pakatan Harapan leaders, and whether they are agreeable to Kit Siang’s statement.”
Earlier in the day, Lim, at a press conference, had said that the royal address was a “policy speech” by the government
Lim had also said that he was "disappointed with the speech".
"The speech by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in opening the sixth meeting of the 13th parliament session yesterday is supposed to be Najib administration's latest policy speech on its policy measures and specifics in the pipeline in the next 12 months.
"I am very disappointed with the latest policy address prepared by the Najib administration for the opening by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong yesterday," he said.
The veteran politician also expressed his disappointment that the speech did not touch on Malaysia's ranking in Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index or Malaysia's purported ignominy over the 1Malaysia Development Bhd issue.
Previously, Lim had also disparaged the royal institution when he claimed that the address by the 14th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the late Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah during the opening of the first meeting of the fourth term of the 13th parliament in 2016, was a speech by the the government and Najib.
At the time, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia said that Lim had breached parliamentary ethics, which was made worse given that he was a seasoned elected representative. — Reports by Syed Umar Ariff; Nazura Ngah; Hidir Reduan; Fairul Asmaini Mohd Pilus; Veena Babulal; Luqman Arif Abdul Karim and Ahmad Suhael Adnan