"I Did What I Felt Was Right": Khairy Defends Staying In Dewan Rakyat While MPs Walked Out
He was one of the three Barisan Nasional (BN) lawmakers left in the house after the walkout.
By Jia Vern Tham — 16 Jul 2018, 05:50 PM
Rembau Member of Parliament (MP) Khairy Jamaluddin was seen sitting alone amidst a near-empty opposition bench in the Dewan Rakyat earlier today, 16 July
Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin remained in his seat while most of his fellow members of opposition walked out in protest.
Image via Malay MailMost Opposition MPs walked out of the house today in protest of the appointment of former Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof as the new Dewan Rakyat speaker.
Khairy was among the three remaining Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs who stayed put following the walkout.
While he stressed that he shared the frustrations of his fellow members of opposition, Khairy reiterated that walking out was "not the way to protest"
"It is better to respect the ceremony and not do anything that can tarnish the BN image," the Rembau MP was quoted as saying by Malay Mail.
"They (Opposition MPs) can protest the appointment during the debate, after officiating ceremony tomorrow, or through the parliament's standing order Wednesday (18 July) onwards," Khairy added, according to theSun.
The Rembau MP added that his decision to remain seated in the Dewan Rakyat was a personal one
"I did what I felt was right," Khairy said in response to questions about whether his decision would be perceived as a rebellious act by UMNO.
"Today is the swearing-in ceremony (of Ariff as the new Dewan Rakyat speaker), so everyone must respect the Dewan and the ceremony," he added.
Former premier and Pekan MP Datuk Seri Najib Razak weighed in on Khairy's act along with the two other Opposition MPs
theSun reported Najib as saying that it is up to UMNO whether to take action on the trio who stayed put in the Dewan Rakyat earlier today.
"I leave it to the party to (take) whatever decision, whatever views (on the trio). Probably they should explain to some extent why they did what they did," the former UMNO president said.