Parliament staff who secured Mace amidst Opposition fracas says it’s time for racial abuse to stop

The assistant to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ean McPherson stated that it is about time that the world moves away from racial slurs and name calling.

This was said during an interview with McPherson after he issued a complaint to the Ethnic Relations Commission, (ERC) about the treatment meted out to him on Wednesday night by a number of Opposition members.

“I know for a fact that there is no Commission in place and they will do some investigations, but that is why I did a hardcopy to ensure that it is there. What I want is for the world to know that it is time we move away from racial slurs and calling people names,” he said.

All of this was derived because McPherson made significant efforts in securing and protecting the Speaker’s mace after Opposition APNU+AFC Member of Parliament Annette Ferguson attempted to steal it.

McPherson explained that in his attempts to protect the mace, not only was he verbally abused by members of the Opposition, but he was also physically assaulted.

“I held on to the mace and it was fling to the floor… and I overheard people screaming. “Kick he! Lash He! Drag He! Let’s Throw he over the rail. All I said, was throw me over the rails because I know when I’m going over the rail, I am going with the mace,” he said. 

Despite all of this, he noted that he secured the symbolic instrument between his legs and it was after this that he was physically assaulted.

“They throw me on the ground, they kicked me, they dragged me outside and then Ms. Philidelphia, Member of Parliament start to abuse me with a series of words like ‘House Salve’, but the one that caught me and I don’t know how I become a ‘House Negro’. So, I prepared a letter and I dropped it upstairs and I showed my concern about how I was treated,” he explained.

In responding to the attention given to him by members of the public for his efforts, McPherson stated that he prefers not to be called a “Hero” as he was only doing his duty.

“I don’t want to be called a hero; I am a patriotic Guyanese. I was basically doing my job as the Assistant to the Speaker,” he confirmed.

That protest and members’ unruly behaviour were the Opposition’s way of attempting to stop the passage of the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Bill, however they were unsuccessful in doing so.

The mace is the most significant symbol in the National Assembly and represents the authority of Parliament.