International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz made her long-waited appearance in the Dewan Rakyat this morning, answering questions for 46 minutes.

She strongly defended her integrity, claiming she had no ties with any of the holders of Approved Permits (APs) and described all such allegations as defamatory.

Several members of Parliament showed support by thumping the tables as she fielded several questions on APs as well as the national automotive policy, the announcement of which has been delayed by two over two months.

In total there were six questions from Wan Hashim Wan Teh (BN-Grik), Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timor), Tiong King Sing (BN-Bintulu), Raja Ahmad Zainuddin Raja Omar (BN-Larut) and Mohd Said Yusof (BN-Jasin).

Of all the questions, Lim's was the one that got the minister all riled up.

Rafidah had dismissed the opposition leader as a 'court jester' and even threatened to sue him when he asked how much she and her family made from the AP system.

Figures don't tally

In another supplementary question, Mohd Said had asked why the issuance of APs did not tally with the stipulated rule and provided statistics to back his claim.

At this juncture, the backbenchers thumped the tables to express support.

The amount of AP issued is based on 10 percent of the total national car production and an additional 10 percent based on the total of national cars sold.

Rafidah explained that the AP figures revealed earlier by the Prime Minister's Department was based on the statistics of permits allocated in a year and some of these permits were issued for the car importer to use them in future.

This, she added, gave rise to the confusion.

"For instance, the ministry approved 500 APs to be given to a company today but the permits were not fully used this year, the importer could use them from today till Oct 4 next year... hence when the ministry said 60,000 APs were issued (this year), half of those are only effective in 2006," she said.

Earlier, when answering the original question from Wan Hashim, Rafidah said the AP system was important to protect the interest of the national car and it was among the measures the government took to protect and promote the interest of national cars.

"Without APs, the imported car could be imported without any monitoring and restriction and it certainly will affect the production of national cars," she added.

One-month leave

Rafidah's19-page reply was similar to her explanation on the AP issue at this July's Umno annual general assembly.

After the question-and-answer session, she left the House without entertaining questions from reporters.

Last week, the cabinet had directed Rafidah to explain the matter to the parliamentarians.

According to her deputy, Ahamd Husni Hanadzlah, the minister will be on a one-month leave from tomorrow in order to undergo a knee surgery.

He also confirmed that he has been tasked to answer the questions which were raised by the MPs during the debates on the Budget 2006 on behalf of the ministry.

This latest development will not go down well with the MPs, who have demanded that Rafidah be present during the winding-up as well.

Meanwhile, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz said the cabinet, at its weekly meeting tomorrow, will decide if an acting minister is to be appointed.