KUALA LUMPUR: The protest staged by opposition MPs over the presence of lawmakers under the house surveillance order (HSO) in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday was "unreasonable".
MCA Youth National chief Datuk Nicole Wong Siaw Ting said the move, which was later followed by a staged walkout, not only wasted public funds but also betrayed the people's trust in the participants.
"The three MPs wore personal protective equipment (PPEs) to the Dewan Rakyat so they could fulfil their duties.
"(And) they did it in compliance with the directives set by the Health director-general (Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah) and only after having obtained permission.
"Unfortunately, the opposition had played up the issue," she said in a statement today.
In contrast, Wong said several opposition MPs, namely Nurul Izzah Anwar (Permatang Pauh), Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir (Jerlun), and Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Muar) remained within the August house, demonstrating their maturity.
"The frontline medical staff don PPE daily to treat Covid-19 patients. Therefore, why do opposition MPs doubt the safety and reliability of PPEs, or, are they deliberately stirring mischief?
"Wearing the PPEs is part of safety procedures which were professionally formulated by the Health Ministry.
"Furthermore, the Dewan Rakyat Speaker (Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun) emphasised that the three MPs had tested negative, and requested that a ballot be taken fast so that they could depart the chambers as soon as possible.
"Unfortunately, this led to further angry remarks," she said.
Wong said the incident further revealed to the public the quality of opposition leaders, who protest merely for the sake of protesting, without good reason, and certainly do not do it for the masses.
"Their behaviour has let down the people, especially young adults.
"The only consolation is that only a handful of opposition MPs, two of whom were young adults, refused to follow the rest."
On Monday, during a bloc vote of the Supply Bill 2021 for the Federal Territories Ministry, the opposition MPs objected to the presence of three MPs; Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba, Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan, and P. Prabakaran (PH-Batu), who wanted to vote.
Among those who exited the Dewan Rakyat were opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng (Bagan), and Amanah chairman Mohamad Sabu (Kota Raja).
The speaker later announced that the Dewan Rakyat had approved allocations for the Federal Territories Ministry under the 2021 Budget after a vote in favour of the government.
