All hell broke loose in the Dewan Rakyat today as Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz and DAP parliamentarians crossed swords.

The commotion, which lasted for nearly an hour, saw the minister cutting short his winding-up speech on the Budget 2007 debate.

DAP MPs, who were upset that Nazri did not allow them to seek clarification on the issues he raised, also left the House for about five minutes as an act of protest.

At one juncture during the argument, DAP national chairperson and Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh repeatedly called on the enraged minister to sit down.

"You are just jealous because I am standing," retorted Nazri in reference to Karpal's confinement to a wheelchair following an accident last year.

He also described the veteran DAP leader and prominent lawyer as being "mad".

This prompted Fong Po Kuan (DAP-Batu Gajah) to demand an apology from the minister. She said Nazri had not only hurt Karpal but all disabled peopled as well.

'Gone crazy'

The war of words erupted when Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timor) sought clarification from Nazri regarding the direction of the country under the leadership of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Lim also raised the statement made by Abdullah in Havana yesterday that he had not lost control of his administration.

However, when Nazri ignored this and continued talking about the Tsunami funds, Karpal urged Deputy Speaker Lim Si Cheng "to restrain the minister since he has gone crazy."

Lim then told Karpal that he cannot tell others to stop using words like 'crazy' when he himself used them.

"Only crazy people can accuse others of being crazy," Nazri responded.

At this point, Chong Eng (DAP-Bukit Mertajam) joined in the fray. "This is an August House," she told the minister.

"But that place over there is not August," remarked the minister, pointing to where the opposition MPs were seated.

Opposition leader Lim then questioned why the minister was delivering his speech like a "speeding train" to the point that other MPs could not understand it.

However, Nazri stressed that he had the right not to allow others to seek clarification.

Poor taste

In the ensuing argument, the minister also called Fong "deaf" and she demanded that the statement be retracted. Nazri then replied: "She is not deaf but hearing impaired."

Coming to the minister's defence, Raja Ahmad Zainuddin Raja Omar (BN-Larut) told the opposition MPs to leave the House if they were not interested in hearing the speech.

This led the DAP MPs, except for Karpal, to stage the brief walkout. Nazri then wrapped up his speech, saying he would provide written answers later to parliamentarians who were interested.

Speaking to reporters later, Nazri - who is the minister in charge of parliamentary affairs - reiterated his stand not to allow space for MPs to seek clarification.

He said the MPs could raise their questions during the debate at the committee level.

Met outside the House, Karpal said Nazri's remark on his inability to stand was in poor taste.

Nobody should wish for another to be confined to a wheelchair, added the veteran politician.