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The opposition's attempt to reject the motion on the increase in the prices of petroleum and other goods tabled by the government in the Dewan Rakyat met with failure when the block voting showed that 129 members voted for the government compared to 78 who voted against it.
It was the second time that the opposition pact had opted for block voting after the first one to pass the motion on the Supply Bill 2008 (2007), which also favoured the government 92-60 on May 28.
Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia accepted the protest made by Mohamed Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak) under article 46 (4) of the Standing Order when 15 or more members stood up to protest on the decision of the House previously which voted according to a voice vote.
The sitting earlier which was chaired by Deputy Speaker Datuk Ronald Kiandee had decided that the motion was passed based on a majority voice but this was opposed by M. Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat).
The motion was tabled by Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad.
Ministers who were absent were Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim (BN-Jelebu), Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (BN-Bagan Datoh) and Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Zulhasnan Rafique (BN-Setiawangsa).
BN members of parliament (MPs) who were absent were Datuk Eric Enchin Majimbun (Sepanggar), Datuk Dr Chua Soon Bui (Tawau), Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz (Kuala Kangsar), Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad (Kangar), Datuk Seri Tengku Azlan Sultan Abu Bakar (Jerantut), Tiong Thai King (Lanang), Raimee Unggi (Tenom) and Datuk Dr James Dawot Mamit (Mambong).
Eric and Dr Chua are the two Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) members who were said to support the vote of no-confidence against the Prime Minister at the current Dewan Rakyat sitting.
Meanwhile three of the four opposition MPs who were absent were Chow Kon Yeow (DAP-Tanjong), Nurul Izzah Anwar (PKR-Lembah Pantai) and Gobind Singh Deo (DAP-Puchong).
The BN has 140 MPs, the opposition 81 while there is one independent member.
Eighteen MPs, nine each from the BN and the Pakatan Rakyat debated the motion Monday.
When winding up the debate, Shahrir said Pos Malaysia Bhd was only paid according to the cost charged in the transactions for the cash rebates paid to vehicle owners following the subsidy restructuring by the government.
He said that on the issue involving the national oil corporation, Petronas only rented the aircraft and did not use the personal jet when travelling to the 33 countries where it was operating in.
He said Petronas's success today was most encouraging because it started as a government representative but had now become a major company at the international level.
He also criticised the opposition for its tendency to manipulate the facts in the oil price increase merely to become popular with the people.
"On the issue on the independent power plant (IPP), the opposition MPs ignored the actual fact that the IPP is bound by the concession agreement although they had already known about it since the 11th Parliament term.
"Everyone knows that in terms of the price and cost of gas for the IPP, they had been decided in the concession agreement that it was the cost borne by Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB)," he said.
He said the opposition on the other hand claimed that the subsidy given to the IPPs was because the government wanted to protect the interest of their cronies.
Shahrir also regretted that the opposition wanted the revenue earned by the Petronas to be shared together with the people without taking into consideration the major contribution made by the corporation to the country.
"Petronas gave its profits not only in the form of oil subsidy enjoyed by the people but also for the country's economic development. Although Petronas recorded a profit of RM95.5 billion up to March 2008, it had returned RM56.8 billion back to the government," he said.
He said 39 per cent of the national oil company's profits came from non-oil operations including retailing and shipping. - BERNAMA
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