PARLIAMENT | Lawmaker Nancy Shukri (GPS-Batang Sadong) has been told to retract her remarks accusing Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng of calling Sarawakians "greedy beggars".

Nancy had made the remarks on Oct 14 in Parliament after which Lim demanded a retraction.

She was then given a chance to submit a written explanation to defend herself to the speaker's office.

However, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Mohamad Ariff Mohd Yusof ruled that the Sarawak MP's remarks were of ill-intent and ordered a retraction.

The order was relayed by deputy speaker Nga Kor Ming in the House today, triggering a brief but heated exchange between the two.

Nancy initially refused to comply, saying she will only retract her remarks when Lim apologised to Sarawakians.

Nga shot back saying, "This is not a night market where you can haggle".

He said that Nancy's explanation also did not provide any evidence to which she retorted that she gave evidence as a whole.

Nancy eventually relented.

"I agree to retract because I have been forced to," she said.

Nancy had previously claimed that Lim's remarks had been reported in the Sarawak media but this was disputed by other DAP lawmakers.

At a press conference at the Parliament lobby later, Nancy said she was not given a chance to explain herself in the Dewan Rakyat.

She said there were other instances when Lim had insulted Sarawakians such as when he said the state would go bankrupt if it was continued to be ruled by GPS.

She also cited Lim's dispute with the Sarawak state government over its debts.

Additional reporting by Fion Yap