YOURSAY | New M’sia should set right standards for acceptable behaviour of elected members.

Bung apologises over 'F-word' incident, motion to censure withdrawn

Fair-Minded Senior Citizen: This was a very good show by Kinabatangan MP Bung Moktar Radin, and it was very gracious of Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin to have accepted the apology.

Yes, we need to make our Parliament a showcase for the world; it should not just be an echo chamber. Let there be vigorous debates and exchanges of opinion for the betterment of our country.

I hope the opposition, too, will abide by the rules of our Parliament. I am beginning to feel that we are now a real democracy, which is a feeling that I had completely lost over the last 40 years of nonsense that emanated from this august chamber.

Anonymous 1802761448130592: Let's mark his words: "I assure that this will not happen again in the future."

If it ever happens again, as the rakyat of Malaysia, we hope that the House speaker will act firmly and promptly to protect not only the image of our august house, but also that of our country.

Clever Voter: Most will not believe this man is sincere. He should learn to embrace humility and respect for others.

We shall see how long his words will last, and most don't expect him to take long before he is back to his usual self.

Mosquitobrain: The Kinabatangan MP made a U-turn and reluctantly apologised for being unparliamentary.

Believe me, it would have been a different story if Putrajaya is still under BN-Umno. A leopard never changes its spots.

FairMalaysian: Indeed, if this had occurred under the previous regime, Bung would have never apologised. It is because he had never been censured before to the extent that he got bolder and became very recalcitrant.

It is good that he has been stopped in his tracks. Such people have damaged the good name of the august house, where decorum should be maintained at all times.

AnotherKomentar: The new Parliament should issue a censure to make an example of this serial offender who had mocked, denigrated and insulted women, minorities and disabled groups.

The new Malaysia still confuses “forgiveness and compassion” with setting the right standards for acceptable behaviour of elected members.

The Wakandan: It is so easy. Apologise and get away with the consequence.

Bung is a habitual offender. Perhaps his past offences should have been taken into account when deliberating on his case.

Anyway, it is always good if he realised his mistakes and sincerely regretted them.

Mission Accomplished: It was a good apology, but still, it did not warrant a full pardon.

Perhaps, a fine should have been imposed equivalent to the allowances he is entitled to for this full parliamentary session; then justice would have been done.

Vijay47: Most of us would have preferred to see Bung suspended, tarred and feathered, but since the self-acclaimed tough guy from the higher ranges of Sabah has been made to eat humble pie and apologise, it was magnanimous of Parliament to accept his contrition and for Zuraida to withdraw the motion. 

Parliament has more pressing matters to attend to, rather than the crude ramblings of a mountain man who never grew up.

The manifesto is why Harapan is in power

CKL: We should ask Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh if he had done a survey as to how many Malaysians who had voted for Pakatan Harapan had read the Harapan manifesto.

I didn't, and I don't know anyone who voted as I had who read it, or at least cover-to-cover. Of course, they heard a few things, especially about eliminating the goods and services tax, but beyond that no one cared.

We simply wanted BN out of power. Then we would go on from there.

We were prepared to take a chance. A manifesto is nothing but a list of intentions. It is not and should not be cast in stone.

The important factor here is: if Harapan deviates from the manifesto, is that a better move? If it is because of current circumstances and the needs of the situation, then we support it.

To say that all Malaysians who voted Harapan want it to adhere strictly to the manifesto is going too far. It is unrealistic and impractical.

Ian2003: It does not matter whether the voters have read or care about the manifesto.

The important aspect is that the person making the manifesto promise should honour it. If you can't honour it despite doing your best, that can be forgiven, but to use the excuse of not anticipating the need to fulfil the promise is pure dishonesty, and that is what we voters do not want and detest.

Anonymous 1802761448130592: Yes, I fully agree with Ramkarpal. We readily accept that the implementation of some of the finance/economic related manifestos is deferred due to reasons obvious to us, but every effort should be made to fulfil those promises that can be carried out now.

Top on the list should be to limit the terms of the prime minister, the menteris besar and chief ministers. These could be implemented and motions to implement them moved right away.

We shudder to think of a return to the scenario where the prime minister, with his coterie of ministers, becomes all-powerful and his cronies start to kowtow to him again. We do not want a return to "Malaysia Lama".

FellowMalaysian: It may be now universally accepted that abolishing the highway toll is wistful thinking, as the government just does not have the resources and revenue to take over these exorbitantly-built megaliths. But that doesn't mean Harapan has not fulfilled its manifesto promises.

Malaysians are a rational and realistic lot and I believe the majority, if not all, of those who voted for Harapan five months ago, will still remain loyal and supportive of the Harapan government, even though the prime minister has cautioned that some of the promises are now considered not “achievable”.

All that Malaysians are seeking is the sincerity of the hearts and minds of the various players in the coalition to deliver what they have promised and the volition to carry out their tasks.

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