Taipei, May 15 (CNA) A motion proposed by opposition parties to recall President Ma Ying-jeou for his current term failed to get off the ground Tuesday after the motion was voted off the legislative agenda by ruling Kuomintang (KMT) lawmakers.

Noting that Ma is to be inaugurated for his second term in less than a week, the KMT caucus said it would be a waste of legislative resources if the motion were to be approved by the Legislature's Procedure Committee for inclusion on the legislative agenda for May 18.

In response to the KMT's veto of the proposal, the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) lawmakers left the committee meeting in protest.

The DPP and TSU caucuses announced their initiative to recall Ma a day earlier. Ma will be sworn into office for a second term on May 20.

They said Ma's move to lift a ban on imports of U.S. beef containing the leanness-enhancing drug ractopamine, and his decision to raise electricity and fuel prices, have made him unfit to serve as head of state.

According to DPP Legislator Wu Ping-jui, the recall motion was "nothing to do" with political sparring between the pan-blue and pan-green camps but was simply based on Ma's poor performance, which he said has led to a low approval rating among the public.

TSU Legislator Lin Shih-chia said the KMT should not have vetoed the motion.

(By Sherry Tang and Ann Chen)
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