Backbenchers Club chairperson Shahrir Samad has thrown his weight behind his BN colleagues who yesterday gave Works Minister S Samy Vellu a quit-or-be-sacked ultimatum while a few ministers considered the call as 'disrespectful'.

"I support the statements of the backbenchers as long as they are not destructive, and I think they have not been destructive in this case by pointing out that the minister is not doing his job and deserved to be transferred.

"At the end of the day, the minister must be responsible," he stressed.

The Johor Baru MP said the backbenchers were right to express their opinion because they were involved in the process of approving government projects and expenditures, hence, they too must ensure the money is wisely spent.

"We have not been happy with the seemingly simplistic and casual manner of the minister in handling issues, couple with the fact that he was absent during the current debate on the budget. I think it is not too much to ask the minister to attend the budget debate, which is only once a year."

Meanwhile, Bernama reported that Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak wants Samy Vellu to explain in Parliament the various issues affecting his ministry.

"I believe the works minister could throw light on the matters raised by members of the House. Since they were raised in Parliament, so it is only proper that the reply be made in Parliament," Najib was quoted as saying.

Disrespectful

A few of Samy Vellu's colleagues in the cabinet however disagreed with the backbenchers' call for the embattled works minister to step down for several infrastructure scandals over the years.

But they were united in urging the Works Ministry to examine the criticisms by the parliamentarians and to find ways to improve the ministry's performance.

Human Resources Deputy Minister Abdul Rahman Bakar said while government backbenchers are allowed to voice their opinions, they should not go to the extent of calling for a minister's resignation.

"It was disrespectful, to say the least," he told malaysiakini at Parliament's lobby.

Energy, Water and Communications Deputy Minister Shaziman Abu Mansor said the calls made by the ruling coalition's backbenchers questioned the prerogative of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

"The backbenchers should know that calling for the minister's removal involves the question of the minister's appointment, which is the prime minister's prerogative," he pointed out.

However, he was quick to add that government backbenchers should have the freedom to air their views and yesterday's incident proved that Parliament is not a rubber stamp.

Shaziman said the parliamentarians sent a strong signal to the Works Ministry to "buck up and improve" itself.

Rarely absent

Youth and Sports parliamentary secretary-cum-MIC Youth chief S Vigneswaran, as expected, strongly defended his party boss, describing the backbenchers' call as "ridiculous and shocking".

He said he was disappointed with Dr Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Itam) who asked Samy to "shut up" if the minister is not familiar with certain issues involving the ministry as he lacks an engineering background.

"If that's the case, then no minister is qualified here ... for instance Pak Lah is the finance minister, but he is not an economist either," Vigneswaran said.

He argued that Samy Vellu is one of the few ministers who is rarely absent in Parliament to handle queries from MPs.

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Parliamentary Secretary Hoo Seong Chang said the senior minister should take the criticisms in stride.

"After all, the failures that were pointed out were facts," he said.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department M Kayveas described the use of such strong words by the backbenchers in their debate as "unusual".

Apart from calling for his resignation, several BN backbenchers also urged the Anti-Corruption Agency to conduct a thorough probe against Samy Vellu to ascertain whether there was any impropriety involved in infrastructure scandals of the past.

Pressures have been mounting on Samy Vellu - one of the most senior members in the cabinet with 25 years under his belt - to quit his current post following the Middle Ring Road II scandal and the latest landslide at Gua Tempurung, Perak, along the North-South highway on Monday.