Member of Parliament for St Andrew South West, the People’s National Party’s (PNP) Dr Angela Brown-Burke has withdrawn her statement that led to last week’s walkout of the House of Representatives by Opposition MPs.

She had also been facing the threat of a censure motion for her actions which were deemed unparliamentary, after she told a member of the governing Jamaica Labour Party to “shut yuh mouth”.

Brown-Burke had risen to her feet on a point-of-order as Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke, who was closing the Budget Debate on March 21, repeatedly referred to Opposition Leader Mark Golding as ‘Massa Mark’, a term she said she found to be racist.

In explaining her actions on Tuesday, Brown-Burke said “I’m the first to admit that the words used by me last Tuesday to rebuff comments of ‘siddung and nuh say nutten’ from the Government benches were unparliamentary”.

Brown-Burke said she also found the comments unbecoming, including those that said ‘but a nuh lie, him (Golding is a …descendant of a slave master).’

Of Clarke’s characterisation of Golding as Massa Mark, Brown-Burke said she found it to be both unbecoming and racist.

“That was the original point on which I rose. (However) the comments that I heard from the benches of the government also increased my anger, it also increased my frustration with the level of incivility and disrespect that I have found far too often coming from that side,” Brown-Burke declared.

She acknowledged that there were times when such behavior emanated from the Opposition benches as well, but she insisted that the government members far too often use their superior numbers (49 MPs to the Opposition’s 14) to hurl insults and show disrespect during House proceedings.

“I want you to imagine with me what that side of 14 goes through day after day when the other side, at every opportunity they get, seeks to quiet them by their numbers and by their abuse,’” said Brown-Burke.

She explained that it was in that context when she rose to make a point that she felt strongly about, and witnessing other members belittling the point she was trying to make “and, to add insult to injury, also telling me to sit down and nuh say nutten, that I responded”.

Brown Burke said she was provoked, even as she withdrew the statement which she said she would have done last week, if she had been allowed to do so.

Her withdrawal was in stark contrast to Clarke who, having spoken earlier Tuesday, insisted in a lengthy statement that he had nothing to apologise for as Massa Mark and ‘Bacra Massa’ as used in today’s language, speak to situations of power and are not racist.

READ: Clarke refuses to apologise for calling Opposition leader ‘Massa Mark’, says term not racist

Meanwhile, Brown-Burke stressed that she meant no disrespect to the Leader of Government Business, Edmund Bartlett, or House Speaker Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert.

She also said it was time for a reset in the Parliament in terms of the way both sides conduct themselves and how they interact with each other. On that point the Speaker agreed with her.