Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang was branded 'a court jester' and threatened with a lawsuit by International Trade and Industry Ministry Rafidah Aziz.

Both the political heavyweights traded blows over the Approved Permits (AP) issue in Parliament today.

Rafidah, dubbed the 'Iron Lady', had handled the six questions posed to her on the matter in a calm and composed manner. But when Lim's supplementary question came, all hell broke loose.

Lim started off on a sarcastic note by welcoming the minister on her '31st appearance in the House over six years'.

He then ruffled her feathers more by saying that she had 'exiled' herself from Parliament.

When a piqued Rafidah stood up to protest, Lim told her to be patient as it was his time to pose the question.

Why the secrecy?

He asked the minister on the progress of her suggestion to abolish the AP system and the explanation letter issued by her secretary-general Sidek Hassan yesterday.

"Was the decision to give APs to MPs in 1997 made with the intention to buy the silence of MPs because the minister herself was allegedly involved in corruption previously by allocating millions of ringgit worth of shares to her son-in-law? The Attorney-General's Chambers had even suggested to charge her in court.

"Could the minister tells us what are the benefits that she and her family have gained from the AP system?"he said.

He also asked why Rafidah had kept the AP holders list a secret up to the point it was released by the Prime Minister's Department.

A visibly upset Rafidah then lashed out at her detractor.

'Don't mess with me'

"My answer is I have been patient with all your slanders for so long, I don't allow my family or myself to be slandered. Don't mess with me," she warned.

"If you call me a queen , then you are the court jester... I'll sue you," added the minister amid verbal salvos from the other parliamentarians.

(Previously, Lim had highlighted Rafidah's poor attendance in Parliament over the years and had claimed that she 'sails into the House like a queen')

The minister also explained that the allocation of an AP to an MP was decided by the cabinet and there were minutes from meetings to back her statement.

However, former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the catalyst behind the AP controversy, had recently denied that his cabinet had made such a decision.

Rafidah's remarks led Lim to invoke the Standing Order to move a motion to refer himself to the Privileges Committee in order to challenge it on whether he had slandered the minister with his remarks.

The chair Dr Yusuf Yacob had ruled out the need for the motion.