Pakatan reps slam ban on recording devices

Perak Pakatan Rakyat (PR) assemblypersons have slammed the ban on electronic recording devices in the next Perak assembly sitting on Aug 3.

The state secretariat issued a directive yesterday banning devices such as computers, cameras and videocameras. However mobile phones are allowed unless they are used for recording purposes.

Pakatan Perak chief Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin was not happy about it. "This is the first state assembly that has done this. Even in Parliament we are allowed to bring in our laptops," he said.

Budget deficit

Meanwhile the BN Perak government will be seeking approval for an additional RM80 million from the state assembly which didn't go down with Pakatan either.

If passed, the state is expected to register RM103,890,000 in deficit for 2010, which is the highest in the history of Perak, said Perak DAP chief Ngeh Koo Ham.

Ngeh has issued a statement challenging Menteri Besar Zambry Abdul Kadir to itemise how the RM80 million will be spent "to avoid it going to dubious projects".

"We will definitely request for a debate even though when the budget bill was first presented, there wasn't one," said Nizar.

PKR Teja assemblyperson Chang Lih Kang supported the call for a debate but said that it was likely that BN will try to "bulldoze" the bill through regardless.