KUALA LUMPUR – Jimmy Puah Wee Tse (Tebrau-PH) has repeatedly called for Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim (Arau-PN) to retract his accusation that the PKR leader supports Israel.
Shahidan started his speech today by asking the government and the Dewan Rakyat to state their stance on the ongoing Israel-Palestine war, as one man’s view does not represent all parliamentarians while pointing at Puah.
This irked Puah, who stood up and demanded that Shahidan retract his accusation, which prompted Shahidan to tell Puah to “shut up”.
“I wanted to evoke the Order 36(6) on Arau (Shahidan) in asking him to retract his statements, especially since he uttered the word ‘shut up’ to me and alleged that I supported Israel,” said Puah.
Following this, Deputy Dewan Rakyat Speaker Alice Lau told Shahidan to show proof to substantiate his accusations against Puah.
To which, Shahidan replied: “Well, if it’s not true, then he (Puah) should have retracted the statement outside Dewan Rakyat. If it’s not true then, Alhamdulillah.”
The Arau MP alleged that there are viral video clips of Puah expressing his support for Israel, which again irked Puah into shouting at Shahidan.
“I did not issue any statement! I’m all in solidarity with Palestine! I even brought up the issues in solidarity of Palestine here (in Dewan Rakyat).”
However, Shahidan stood by his statement that if Puah does not support Israel, he should have said so, and the Arau MP would retract his accusations.
This did not calm the lower house down as Datuk Awang Hashim (Pendang-PN) suddenly backed Shahidan, reiterating that Puah should have retracted his alleged support for Israel.
This prompted Syahredzan Johan (Bangi-PH) to stand up and tell off Hashim, which prompted another shouting match of “lu sapa?” (who are you) between the two, and chimed in by other MPs who demanded Shahidan retract his explosive statements.
The uproar finally simmered down after Lau told Shahidan to retract his statements, to which an irate Shahidan gave in.
“I retract my statements, I’ve done it 10 times (already),” he said. – October 30, 2023