Opposition stages walkout over GST statute paper

KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition MPs staged a walkout at the Dewan Rakyat after the Government bench called for a bloc vote to pass the statute paper on the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

The walkout resulted in the Barisan Nasional MPs winning the vote by 101 to 0, which allowed the statute paper to be passed.

Earlier in the morning, the Opposition MPs made a surprise request that a bloc vote be carried out on the Finance Ministry’s GST statute paper.

However, Deputy Speaker Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee ruled that the voting would only be made after the lunch break.

When the sitting resumed after lunch, it was Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who called for a bloc vote on behalf of the Barisan MPs instead of the Opposition.

The Opposition bench protested against the Government move, saying that the request was an “abuse of the bloc voting process”.

In a press conference, Seremban DAP MP Anthony Loke said the Opposition called for a bloc vote on the GST statute paper earlier in the morning because many Barisan lawmakers were absent from the Dewan Rakyat at that time.

“We wanted to teach the Barisan MPs not to play truant when Parliament is in session.

“The lesson here is not to take Parliament for granted,” he said.

“It is their duty to attend Parliament sittings, and we want them to know that we are not a rubber stamp,” said Loke.