Backbenchers and opposition members held nothing back as they traded barbs when debating the recent assault on Sekinchan assemblyperson Ng Suee Lim in the Selangor state assembly today.

It was a case of one-upmanship as elected representatives from both sides of the divide attempted to paint each other as clear examples of poor character.

sekinchan transplant voter 151107 ng swee lim 2 Backbenchers had no qualms in training their guns on Umno, attacking the party for allegedly encouraging violence and all round bad behaviour, as illustrated by the alleged attack on Ng, which he claimed was done by Tanjung Karang Umno members.

The opposition bench, on the other hand, accused Ng ( right ) of deliberately going around and provoking such a reaction in a bid to put Umno in a bad light.

Sungai Burong assemblyperson Mohd Shamsudin Lias went so far as to accuse Ng of drunk driving when the latter’s Nissan X-Trail SUV hit a Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) student on a motorcycle near midnight on Feb 7 this year.

NONE “The Sekinchan assemblyperson went into Sungai Burong and intentionally provoked the people there. I am not surprised by his behaviour, because the police report on his accident showed that he was drunk,” he said, drawing protests from the opposition bench and Ng in particular.

Ng demanded that Shamsudin ( left ) retract his claim that the former was drunk, but the latter refused, saying he is willing to endure whatever action against him to uphold the truth.

Teratai assemblyperson Jenice Lee interjected in Ng’s defence, saying that regardless if there truly was provocation or otherwise, it does not legalise acts of violence against anyone.

State executive councillor Hasan Mohd Ali, in winding up the debate, said there is no room for “narrow politics” practiced by Umno and BN, taking a swipe at Tanjung Karang Umno chief Noh Omar over his statement that Ng “got what he deserved for coming into someone else's territory”.

‘We’ll help, even in Timbuktu’

“This incident happened due to narrow politics. If we allow such incidents to happen, what picture are we showing our school children? What sort of culture are we creating?

hasan ali umno pas selangor talk quality hotel 300708 02 “If our rakyat have problems here, we help them here. If our rakyat in Sarawak have problems, we go to Sarawak, and if our rakyat are having problems in Timbuktu, we go to Timbuktu... we should help those who need help, this is the politics of development,” Hasan ( left ) said.

Earlier this morning, Rawang assemblyperson Gan Pei Nei tabled an emergency motion to condemn Noh’s statement and the inaction of the police in the incident last Thursday.

Gan said the House must take a stand in demanding action against Noh, who had reportedly accused Ng of trespassing into an area outside his constituency.

Gan also decried the inaction by the police, despite the fact that the victim of the attack is an elected representative.

“There were three officers on the scene, but they did nothing and merely acted as observers,” she said.