by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP FOR Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Monday, 22.1.1990:
Speaker’s claim that involvement of a Deputy Speaker in a pornographic videotape scandal would not tarnish the image of Malaysian Parliament most unbelievable, shocking and unbecoming
The Speaker of Parliament, Tan Sri Mohamed Zahir Ismail, said in Alor Star yesterday when he attended the Sultan of Kedah’s 62nd birthday celebrations, that the alleged involvement of a Deputy Speaker in the pornographic videotape scandal would not tarnish the image of Dewan Rakyat.
This is not the first time Tan Sri Mohamed Zahir Ismail had made such a statement in connection with the Vijandran pornographic videotape scandal. The first time I read it in the press, when Vijandran announced he was seeking indefinite leave of absence as Deputy Speaker and not resigning as widely reported, I thought Tan Sri Zahir was probably misquoted. Now that Tan Sri Zahir has repeated this view, he appears to be very serious about it.
This statement and claim by the Speaker that the involvement of a Deputy Speaker in a pornographic videotape scandal would not tarnish the image of the Dewan Rakyat is most shocking, unbelievable and unbecoming of his high office. I do not know why the Vijandran pornographic videotape scandal has made so many high government officials, such as the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Deputy Home Minister, the Attorney-General, the Inspector-General of Police, the Director of CID, and now the Speaker of Parliament to say so many foolish things!
Proposal that Parliament commission a public opinion poll as to whether Dewan Rakyat’s image had been tarnished by the Vijandran pornographic videotape scandal
In making such a statement, Tan Sri Zahir is leaving the non-partisan and non-controversial precincts of a Speaker and straying into the political arena.
He is also compromising the independent and impartial position that must be maintained by a Speaker, especially as the DAP is demanding that the Vijandran pornographic videotape scandal should be referred to the Parliamentary Committee of Privileges precisely because Parliament’s honour, image and dignity had been damaged. Tan Sri Zahir is the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee of Privileges.
If Tan Sri Zahir thinks that the involvement of a Deputy Speaker in a pornographic videotape scandal would not tarnish the image of the Dewan Rakyat, I suggest that Parliament commission a public opinion poll to gather the views of the people as to whether the image of Dewan rakyat had been tarnished.
In actual fact, the Vijandran pornographic videotape scandal has not only tarnished the image of Dewan Rakyat, it has seriously shattered the image of the government as well as brought the international reputation of Malaysia to a all-time low.
There are foreigners who only know Malaysia by the Vijandran pornographic videotape scandal
There are foreigners who only know Malaysia by the international press reports about the Vijandran pornographic videotape scandal, that Malaysia is a country where its Deputy Speaker in Parliament is in the thick of such a scandal, and where its Attorney-General could do the unthinkable act of destroying the videotapes concerned to eradicate the evidence that could be used in criminal prosecutions or civil litigation, without any orer from any magistrate!
If Tan Sri Zahir’s view that the involvement of a Deputy Speaker in a pornographic videotape scandal would not tarnish the image of Dewan Rakyat reflects the views of the top government leadership, then they would clearly hold that such a scandal would not affect the international image of Malaysia as well.
If this is their thinking and logic, then the more such scandals there are in the country, the better it would be for Malaysia, for more foreigners would come to know about Malaysia, and since it would not tarnish Malaysia’s image, it should be good for the campaign to make Malaysia more well-known in the Visit Malaysia Year!
If Tan Sri Zahir Ismail maintains the view that the involvement of a Deputy Speaker in a pornographic videotape scandal will not tarnish the image of the Dewan Rakyat, then he has formed a biased and prejudiced attitude on the issue, and it would not be fair for him to preside as Speaker whenever the Vijandran pornographic videotape scandal is raised in the Dewan Rakyat from Feb. 26- March 16.
I hope Tan Sri Zahir Ismail can clarify his position on the Vijandran pornographic videotape scandal.