PARLIAMENT | The temperature in the Dewan Rakyat went up several notches today when opposition lawmakers referred to Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng's controversial “declaration of war” remark.

Speaker Mohamad Ariff Mohd Yusof then cautioned MPs against fanning statements that could incite racial tensions.

"The standing order states - do not raise issues that could incite negative feelings among races. If something has been stated, there is no need to support it or further fan the flames," he said.

The commotion was triggered during opposition leader Ismail Sabri Yaakob's (above) debate on the royal address that touched on Lim's statement regarding the union between Umno and PAS.

Last Wednesday, Lim issued a statement in Chinese urging MCA to immediately leave BN because Umno and PAS were now "declaring war" on non-Muslims. He later issued a correction, which replaced the phrase "declaring war" with "targeting".

Ismail Sabri (BN-Bera) questioned whether Lim's initial statement was tantamount to a "provocation" for non-Muslims to "declare war" against Malay Muslims in Malaysia.

"This is a very serious provocation.

"If this provocation was taken (seriously) by the non-Malays who subsequently declare war against Malays, it means surely something that we do not wish - like May 13, 1969 - will happen," Ismail Sabri said.

At this juncture, Takiyuddin Hassan (PAS-Kota Bharu, photo) said: "War is fine. We will welcome war if (they) want a war."

Azalina Othman Said (BN-Pengerang) then demanded to know the identity of the MP who had made the remark, and Takiyuddin repeated himself.

Following an uproar from the government bench, Bung Moktar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan) stood up and declared, "If there is a war, we welcome the war!"

Lim was not present in the Dewan Rakyat.

Yesterday, inspector-general of police Mohamad Fuzi Harun revealed that 58 police reports have been lodged on the matter and Lim might be called in for questioning.

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