KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 — Lim Kit Siang escalated his attacks on the government over the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal in Parliament today in a take-no-prisoners approach by punctuating the transport minister's speech with histrionics to highlight the veteran opposition man's disappointment with Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat's explanations.
Ong only got as far as the first paragraph of his speech when Lim rose and shouted at the minister, accusing the MCA president of attempting to mislead Parliament.
Lim claimed that Ong had not included the fact that the Cabinet had on Oct 23, 2002 rejected the proposal to buy the land for the PKFZ development, and suggested it would be cheaper to acquire it under the Land Acquisition Act.
Lim did not stop demanding an explanation even after the Speaker had instructed him to calm down and reminded him of Parliament’s Standing Orders which disallow any member from interrupting a ministerial explanation.
Even after the microphone at his desk was switched off by the Speaker, Lim did not stop shouting.
A visibly-annoyed Ong returned with his own volley of insults, calling Lim a "pitiful creature who just won't give up" but retracted it after Batu Gajah DAP parliamentarian Fong Po Kuan demanded he do so.
The minister's apology appeared to calm the tension and Lim then allowed Ong to continue reading out the rest of his explanation to the House.
At a press conference later, Lim perhaps provided some insights as to why he had acted that way.
"I was utterly disappointed by Ong's explanation," he said.
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