Emergency motion to debate Lanka in Malaysian parliament rejected
June 22, 2011 01:00 pm
Malaysian Deputy Speaker Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar today rejected an emergency motion to debate alleged civil war atrocities in Sri Lanka on the ground that it “involved the internal affairs of another country”.
Baffled by the rejection M Kulasegaran (DAP- Ipoh Barat) noted that Parliament had even passed resolutions against other countries, such as Israel, and Johari Abdul (PKR-Sungai Petani) pointed out that the Dewan Rakyat had often discussed the issue of Palestinians and the Rohingyas of Burma.
“Why is Sri Lanka so special?” Kulasegaran said as he and Johari spoke to reporters in the Parliament lobby.
Johari, who filed the notice for the debate, said that he, along with M Manogaran (DAP-Teluk Intan) and Senator S Ramakrishnan, visited Sri Lanka early this month and found that the situation in the northern part of the island nation was “appalling”.
He said many Sri Lankans experienced untold suffering during the 26-year war that ended in 2009.
Kulasegaran said the Dewan Rakyat used to be more willing to discuss Sri Lanka, recalling that he raised the subject of the civil war in 2004.
“The Home Minister, Syed Hamid Albar, personally replied that he had visited Sri Lanka and had asked the government there to find a final solution.
“If this could happen in 2004, why is it not allowed in 2011?” Malaysian Media reports.
