The opposition lawmakers who launched verbal attacks against Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department P Waythamoorthy in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday should be referred to the rights and privileges committee, DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang said.

"The disgraceful parliamentary episode on Monday morning should never be allowed to happen again.

"No MP or minister should be shouted and yelled at to shut him or her up from having his or her say in Parliament," the Iskandar Puteri MP said in a statement today.

"Why can’t the Umno and PAS Members of Parliament exercise the necessary parliamentary decorum and dignity to allow Waythamoorthy to have his say?" said Lim, who described the incident as one of the "greatest disgraces" in the history of the Malaysian Parliament.

PAS and Umno lawmakers had on Monday launched a verbal attack against Waythamoorthy, accusing the unity minister of being racist in reference to his remarks made in an old video clip.

Tumpat MP Che Abdullah Mat Nawi chanted “Racist! Racist!” during Waythamoorthy's speech to wind up the debate on the Supply Bill 2019 in the Dewan Rakyat.

In his speech, Waythamoorthy had attempted to clarify the government's stand on ratification of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd)

Tanjong Karang MP Noh Omar then questioned Waythamoorthy's remarks made in the old video and this then triggered an outcry among opposition MPs who ignored orders from Dewan Rakyat speaker Mohamad Arif Mohd Yusof.

Drawing flak

Commenting further, Lim questioned whether Malaysian parliamentary standards will continue to regress.

"Will the Malaysian Parliament next graduate to fistfights and physical attacks on the speaker, as has happened in other parliaments?" he asked, pointing out that the incident had also involved several former BN ministers.

Waythamoorthy has been drawing flak since the resurfacing of the old clip in which he appears to accuse the then BN administration of discriminating against Indian Malaysians.

The video clip in question showed Waythamoorthy demanding that the grouses of ethnic Indians be addressed by the then BN government.

The minister explained on Sunday that the demands were made in a 2007 interview with a Dutch TV station shortly after the Hindraf rally in Kuala Lumpur, at a time which was very different from that of the present Harapan administration.