DECEITFUL PN – NOW, PAS MP HALIMAH DENIES SAYING ‘MENU RAHMAH’ CAN CAUSE CANCER AFTER EARLIER AUTISM DENIAL – DOES HALIMAH EVEN KNOW WHAT SHE MEANS – EVEN AS BERSATU’S MAS ERMIEYATI TRIES TO STEAL THE THUNDER FROM PAKATAN-UMNO’S MUCH-HAILED CITIZENSHIP AMENDMENT – AS THOUGH MALAYSIANS HAVE FORGOTTEN IT WAS HER VERY PETTY PARTY-MATE HAMZAH WHO APPEALED COURT DECISION GRANTING MALAYSIAN MOMS THE RIGHT TO GRANT CITIZENSHIP TO THEIR KIDS BORN OVERSEAS
She said the Dewan Rakyat Hansard would prove that she did not say such a thing.
“Look at the Hansard. I did not say that the Menu Rahmah causes cancer. Check the Hansard,” she said in the Lower House today.
The PAS lawmaker said this in response to a verbal attack by Sany Hamzan (Pakatan Harapan-Hulu Langat), who railed at her for saying the low-cost food menu programme could cause autism and cancer.
A check on the Hansard – the official transcript of the on-goings in Dewan Rakyat – found Halimah’s (above) remarks on Feb 14, regarding Menu Rahmah as follows:
“I want to talk about food security. These are basic needs. We don’t want- I as a medical doctor, fear that when food security is desperate, it can bewilder the government.
“We don’t want shortcuts; we don’t want compromises from the supply of low-quality food.
“I have no problem with the term ‘rahmah’ or such, but don’t let it reach a point where the poor B40 are given low-quality food supply that may also cause them to be exposed to cancer, autoimmune diseases, autism, and such”.
Halimah later said on Thursday that she did not mean to say that eating low-quality food could lead to a developmental disorder like autism.
Her remarks have been widely panned, including by autism-related groups.
The Menu Rahmah programme was introduced by the government in January as an effort to tackle the rising cost of living.
Under the initiative, eateries and businesses would provide meals at RM5 and below.
The programme is currently a purely business initiative with no government funding, although incentives for participating eateries are being considered.
During the royal address debate in the Dewan Rakyat today, Awang Hashim (PN-Pendang) and Azman Nasrudin (PN-Padang Serai) questioned whether the programme was sustainable, and what kind of incentives the government would give to participating traders in order to keep it sustainable.
MP: Govt had ‘easy job’ approving new citizenship rule
The present federal administration had an “easy job” granting Malaysian women married to foreigners the right to confer citizenship on their children born abroad, said a former deputy minister.
Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (Perikatan Nasional-Masjid Tanah) said the government only needed to approve a proposal to amend the Federal Constitution while the previous government, which she was a part of, conducted studies on the matter.
“The present government only needed to make the decision. What does that mean? They had the easy job to only make the decision,” she said.
In the Dewan Rakyat today, she congratulated rights group Family Frontiers for its success in pushing for the amendment.
She also noted how lobbying efforts and studies were conducted during her time as deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law).
“I had the opportunity to meet with them (Family Frontiers) when I was a deputy minister, and I brought them to meet the minister in charge, Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
“The minister (in charge of Parliament and Law) expressed his commitment (to the amendment) and initial work was done, researches were done, and communications with the palace were also done,” said Mas Ermieyati in her debate of the royal address today.
Last August, Wan Junaidi said amending the Federal Constitution to provide citizenship to overseas-born children through their Malaysian mothers was beyond the powers of the government.
He said a constitutional amendment would need the involvement of the Conference of Rulers, and that the government at the time would only decide on its next course of action once a Federal Court ruling is made on the matter.
While reiterating her support for the amendment, Mas Ermieyati noted that the current government should wait for the Federal Court’s upcoming decision on automatic citizenship for children born overseas to Malaysian mothers and foreign fathers, as it will shed light on any potential legal limitations.
“Similarly for matters that involve consent from the Rulers Council.
“This is to avoid any legal crisis surrounding double citizenship,” she said.
Additionally, she said the government should look into amendments to related laws, including the option to allow children born abroad to choose Malaysian citizenship at the age of 18.
MKINI
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