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UMNO gangsters mob Karpal Singh at Parliament lobby~malaysiakini

A day after proclaiming that 'Singh is King', DAP veteran Karpal Singh finds himself mobbed by a group of angry Umno Youth members at the Parliament lobby.

This followed Karpal's accusation yesterday that the 'celaka' (damn) Umno Youth was responsible for the death threat and live bullets he had received via mail last week.

Karpal had also warned Umno Youth not to play games with him and likened himself to the recent Bollywood blockbuster 'Singh is King'.

At about 2.30pm, the wheelchair-bound politician was surrounded by about 30 Umno Youth members who prevented him from entering the Dewan Rakyat.

Karpal then telephoned fellow DAP MP Fong Po Kuan, who arrived with a rescue team comprising DAP MPs to save their chairperson.

During the ensuing drama, which saw a little shoving and pushing, DAP MP for Segambut Lim Lip Eng claimed that he was assaulted.

According to Lim, he was hit a number of times on the face and his body.

The opposition parliamentarians also complained that security personnel did not intervene until they made noise.

In an immediate reaction, Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia expressed regret over the incident, which he said was a first in Parliament.

The Speaker added that he would ask the Home Ministry to investigate the matter and vowed that such incidents would not recur.

Meanwhile, a defiant Karpal later declared: "I might be disabled but I will not take any intimidation from any quarters."

Khairy lambasts Karpal

Earlier, Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin challenged Karpal, whom he described as an "arrogant MP who thinks he knows everything", to repeat his accusation outside of the Parliament building.

"It is a wild and insane allegation... Karpal should not hide behind his parliament immunity and face us outside," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby.

Karpal had levelled the accusation when debating on the motion of thanks on the royal address in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

Meanwhile, Khairy said Umno Youth cannot take any legal action against Karpal because the accusation was made in Parliament.

"DAP always talks of a world class parliament but their chairman behaves in a very uncivilised and rude manner," added the Rembau MP.

'Give us proof or be branded a liar'

Khairy also challenged the veteran lawyer to provide proof of his allegation within 24 hours.

"If he doesn't show us the proof, then the people should consider Karpal a liar and that he has no credibility," he said.

Asked if an apology would be sufficient, the Umno Youth leader replied: "There is no use in asking him for an apology because he is an arrogant MP and he thinks he knows everything."

Furthermore, Khairy said more than a hundred police reports were filed against Karpal when he threatened to sue Perak ruler, Sultan Azlan Shah, over the political turmoil in the state.

The Umno Youth leader urged the Attorney-General's Chambers to look into the reports and take action.

"We want to remind him that Umno Youth is not playing games and Karpal is the one who is playing with the sentiments of the rakyat, he is playing with fire.

"If he does not repent, then it would only serve to aggravate our anger and the anger of the people," he warned.

In a related development, Jerlun MP Mukhriz Mahathir, who is vying for the Umno Youth chief's post, also lashed out at Karpal for his remarks.

He said Karpal should be charged with sedition for questioning the Sultan of Perak. He also reprimanded Karpal for his arrogance in stating that 'Singh is King'.

"It shows that he does not respect our rulers," he said in a statement.

malaysiakini
26/02/09

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