The Dewan Rakyat today rejected PAS' proposal to deduct RM10 off Finance Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's monthly salary.

The motion was debated for an hour today after the question-and-answer session, with opposition members of parliament in support of it and backbenchers at the opposing end.

When the debate concluded, MPs were merely asked to state whether they agreed or disagreed with the motion. With the ruling front dominating more than two-thirds of the House, it was inevitably shot down by Deputy Speaker Muhammad Abdullah.

This was the fifth failed attempt by the opposition to cut RM10 from the salary of 'non-performing' government officials under Section 66(9) of the Standing Orders.

The other motions involved Education Minister Musa Mohamed, Information Minister Khalil Yaakob, Science, Technology and Environment Minister Law Hieng Ding and Deputy Home Minister Chor Chee Heung.

Voting for a token cut in salaries of non-performing ministers is a common practice in parliamentary democracy.

No collective responsibility

During the debate today, Hasan Ali (PAS-Parit Buntar), who raised the motion, said the finance minister's salary should be cut as punishment for his absence from the debate sessions on Budget 2003 which was tabled on Sept 20.

"There is no collective responsibility even after 35 days. Other than on budget day, we have not seen the finance minister's face," said Hasan, who is PAS vice president.

Finance Minister Mahathir is also the prime minister and Kubang Pasu MP. The responsibility of accounting for the budget was delegated to deputy ministers and parliamentary secretaries.

Hasan also noted the general absenteeism of ministers from the House. He pointed out that parliamentary proceedings have been going on for more than a month, but not many ministers had been present to answer questions from the House.

Hasan said only Works Minister S Samy Vellu makes it a point to address every question himself.

In reply to parts of Hasan's speech, Deputy Finance Minister Shafie Mohd Salleh said that it has been a convention in Parliament that deputy ministers and parliamentary secretaries answer questions posed by members.

Shafie said to expect a minister, who has so much on his hands, to sit through the whole parliamentary proceeding is "unreasonable".

"He or she has so much to take care of and we must look at the bigger picture," he said, adding that according to a parliamentary standing order, ministers have the prerogative to decide whether to reply to a question posed by MPs.

However, it was not just opposition MPs who were peeved by the absence of government ministers from the House.

Early this year, backbencher Mohamed Aziz (BN-Sri Gading) suggested in Parliament that officials who fail to perform their duties such as attending parliamentary sessions, be sacked from their jobs.

Fasting month

Meanwhile, in opposing the motion, Ruhanie Ahmad (BN-Parit Sulong) voiced his dismay with PAS for choosing the first day of the fasting month to criticise Mahathir.

PAS had often claimed it was more Islamic than other parties, yet instead of acting mature, its leaders chose to slam the premier, an Islamic leader who may one day receive a Nobel prize, said Ruhanie.

He also questioned PAS for rejecting Mahathir's offer on Saturday to the opposition to join the ruling front, Barisan Nasional.

"I know that some PAS leaders in this very House are attracted by the premier's invitation," he said.

Ruhanie then urged PAS to withdraw the motion, saying that if they refused to do so, the entire Muslim community in the country will judge PAS for what he charged it to be an Islamic party which has refused to adhere to the call for unity in the month of Ramadan.