A motion has been filed under Standing Order 26(1)(P) to investigate the pandemonium that erupted in the Senate Lounge in Parliament today.

NONE At the time, opposition MPs were hosting a roundtable discussion on the lack of government scholarships for non-bumiputera students.

A heated argument broke out between opposition MPs and several Barisan MPs who entered the lounge, including Kinabatanan MP Bung Mokhtar Radin ( above, seated at extreme right ).

Bung Mokhtar said he had filed the motion.

He alleged that there were outsiders in the lounge and this could have jeopardised "the safety of MPs".

BN's Tangga Batu MP Idris Harun said he entered the lounge because he had heard participants cursing Umno and BN, and wanted to tell them that this was not appropriate.

"They were shouting BN celaka, Umno celaka, so I went over to advise them. I greeted (DAP-Ipoh Barat MP) Kula and (DAP-Ipoh Timor MP Lim) Kit Siang and told them I'd like to stay and listen.

NONE "But some of the participants started shouting, telling me to leave and pushed me," he told reporters after the scuffle.

'Parliament sanctioned'

Bung, however, then launched into a loud tirade claiming the meeting was "illegal’.

"How can security allow these people to simply come into the Parliament?" he asked after concluding a shouting match with several indignant NGO members.

DAP vice-chairperson M Kulasegaran told reporters later that the discussion was going on when Idris and Bung barged in and disrupted the meeting.

"Parliament is the place for the people to come and articulate their cause. It should be accessible to the public," he said, adding that the two MPs were neither invited nor welcomed.

Padang Serai MP N Gobalakrishnan concurred and explained that Kulasegaran had earlier obtained permission from the parliamentary affairs office to conduct the discussion.

"This is a private meeting and Parliament had sanctioned it," he said.

Opposition leaders who attended the roundtable discussion were Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo, former Perak menteri besar and Bukit Gantang MP Nizar Jamaluddin, Sungkai state assemblyperson A Sivanesan, Kapar MP S Manickavasagam, Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj, Bukit Mertajam MP Chong Eng, Teluk Intan MP M Manogaran and Rasah MP Anthony Loke.

Some students snubbed

One of the NGO participants, Federation of Malaysian Indian Organisations President A Rajaretinam said the lack of government scholarships for non-bumiputera students was a "violation of democratic rights".

"Last year there were about 10,000 students with SPM 8As and above. Overall, there are about 10,000 scholarships offered by the government and corporations. So it should be enough for all the top students," he explained.

However, he added, the current system was such that some students were offered more than one option while some others were totally snubbed.

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