Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong has denied that students were forced to join the 1Malaysia camp held in Kuala Dipang in Kampar where a schoolgirl lost her life while crossing a suspension bridge.

NONE "No, no, we didn't force the students. Normally the school will select the students and we will send them to join the camps.

"It is also normal for the parents to say things like that when such incident occurs," he said.

To a question whether the government should continue with the 1Malaysia camps, Wee replied, "It depends on the parents whether they agree (to send their children) or not.

"They should not say that a similar incident will happen at other places. However, the ministry will look into the incident as a lesson," he said.

Wee also said the ministry will not ban all camping activities to prevent such incidents from happening again.

"The problem is not with the 1Malaysia camps. When we go camping in the weekend and such an incident occurs, does it mean that we have to ban all camping activities?" he asked.

Motion dismissed

Earlier, an emergency motion to debate the collapse of the newly-built suspension bridge across Sungai Kampar, Perak by Pakatan parliamentarians was rejected by speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia in chambers.

Parliamentarian Lee Boon Chye (PKR-Gopeng) filed the emergency motion under Section 18(1) of the Standing Order yesterday.

NONE He had asked for the speaker to allow the debate on whether the camping programme should be suspended temporarily until safety is guaranteed and preventive measures be taken to prevent the recurrence of such tragedies.

Lee, however, pursued the matter in the House today, but it was once again disallowed by Deputy Speaker Ronald Kiandee.

Kiandee said that the motion cannot be raised in the House after being rejected in chambers.

"The speaker had decided and rejected the motion in chambers," said Kiandee, to the protest of the opposition parliamentarians.

Batu Gajah DAP member of parliament Fong Po Kuan argued that it was crucial to debate the matter as it was of national importance and it involved the safety of children.

Similarly, Batu PKR MP Tian Chua asked "what is the use of the Dewan (Rakyat) if these issues cannot be contemplated?"

Kiandee, however, did not shut all avenues and instead suggested that the MPs raise the issue during the debate on the 2010 Supply Bill.

Works ministry not involved

NONE The reason for the rejection, Kiandee said, was because a committee has been formed to investigate the incident and Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had taken a serious interest in the matter.

"Let's wait for the findings and we can take it from there," said Kiandee.

Meanwhile, Works Minister Shaziman Abu Mansor told reporters at the Parliament lobby that the bridge was not built by the ministry or its department.

"But I was informed that the bridge was a donation from certain quarters," he said, without elaborating.

However, he added, the government will provide help to the victims and conduct a technical investigation to identify the reason for the incident.

"In the engineering field, whatever is done, the priority should be given to the user's safety. That is a must," he said.