Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has criticised some Opposition MPs for boycotting the Dewan Rakyat debate on the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report concerning the management of Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH), describing the move as unprofessional.
He said while Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim should answer questions surrounding the issue once he has recovered, MPs should not stop carrying out their responsibilities to debate the report and perform their checks and balances.
“Parliament is not a one-man show. The Prime Minister is unwell, but we are the ones who are not doing our job.
“We are paid tens of thousands of ringgit in salaries, pensions and various allowances to carry out our checks and balances, yet we have failed to perform that role,” he said while debating the RCI report in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday.
Syed Saddiq stressed that the RCI report did not belong to any particular Prime Minister or political party, but concerned the interests of more than 10 million Tabung Haji depositors.
He said MPs had a responsibility to scrutinise the report, debate the facts and uncover any possible wrongdoing to ensure the interests and dignity of depositors were protected.
“It is extremely unfortunate that those of us in the Opposition, who are the most vocal in championing the Malay-Muslim cause, have chosen to boycott the debate concerning one of the most important institutions for the Malay-Muslim community.
“We are not boycotting the Prime Minister. We are boycotting our responsibility to millions of Tabung Haji depositors,” he said.
Syed Saddiq said he therefore chose to remain in the Dewan Rakyat and participate in the debate based on facts and data.
He added that taking part in the parliamentary debate was important to safeguard the integrity and reputation of Tabung Haji, while ensuring the interests of its more than 10 million depositors continued to be protected.
