Critics have called on the Speaker to suspend MP Johnny Taione after the Chairman of the Whole House Committee Lord Tu’ilakepa threw MP Piveni Piukala out of Parliament for a day.
Taione and Piukala began trading verbal punches in Parliament this morning before Taione swore at Piukala.
Taione’s insult was made live on Parliament livestreaming broadcast.
“Ful_’i ki lalo”, Taione’s swearing in Tongan was overheard as he was yelling it out to Piukala
As Kaniva News reported earlier, Chairman Lord Tu’ilakepa had suspended Piukala for “inappropriate behaviour” after he accused the government’s new annual budget of being allegedly falsified.
A heated debate erupted in the House after Piukala made the allegations.
The Prime Minister and the Chairman along with others from the government bench asked Piukala to tell them which specific pages in the budget that contained the alleged falsification. Piukala asked the Chairman to allow Tt5 MP to provide an answer before him in which the Chairman declined it.
Taione interrupted and called on the Chairman to stop Piukala in which Piukala challenged him to a fight.
However, Lord Tu’ilakepa finally announced that he has suspended Piukala.
The Chairman’s failure to take action against Taione had been widely criticised on social media.
The public has been quick to condemn Taione’s behavior, calling it disrespectful and unbecoming of an MP.
Many believed the Chairman should have suspended Taione instead of Piukala. They have also called on the Speaker to take action against Taione, with some even calling for his suspension from Parliament.
The Speaker has yet to comment on the incident.
Critics said the Chairman Lord Tu’ilakepa should be fair to both Piukala and Taione.
Taione’s insult drew a backlash from many who said they were shocked and disgusted by his demeanour.
“That’s unbelievable. It is better to argue and dispute issues as much as you can but you can’t swear in the House,” a commenter on Facebook said.
“If our MPs didn’t have good manners, that’s too bad,” wrote one commenter.
Some commenters asked why the Speaker was slow to do something about Taione.
