‘Honourable’ Nazri backs Tian Chua

The minister tells the BN backbenchers not to file a motion to seek the PKR MP's removal, saying it will be a dishonourable act.

KUALA LUMPUR: Legally embattled opposition MP Tian Chua has found an unlikely ally in the form of Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz.

According to the Barisan Nasional leader, it was not right for the ruling coalition’s MPs to push for the PKR MP’s disqualification from Parliament.

“As a fellow MP, I feel that it’s not right for me to put up a motion to seek his removal because we’re all honourable members (of the House). It’s not right for any member to move a motion to disqualify another member,” he told reporters.

According to a news report, BN Backbenchers Club (BNBBC) deputy chairman Bung Mokhtar Radin said he and other BN MPs would table an emergency motion to disqualify Tian Chua.

Last month, the Court of Appeal dismissed Tian Chua’s appeal against his conviction of assaulting a policeman in 2007.

The appeals court upheld the High Court’s decision to uphold his conviction and sentence of a RM2,000 fine and two months jail in default.

According to Article 48 of the Federal Constitution, a MP would be disqualified if he or she was sentenced to a jail term of not less than one year or to a fine not less than RM2,000.

Tian Chua, the Batu MP, was originally sentenced to six months jail and RM3,000 fine, which he appealed against later.

‘Not an honourable act’

Nazri cautioned his fellow BN MPs against filing a motion against the PKR lawmaker, as they did not have the power to do so.

“To remove a fellow member as an MP is beyond me. Even the backbenchers cannot do it. I would advise them not to do so because it’s not an honourable act,” the minister said.

Nazri added that such a responsibility rested in the hands of the Speaker, who had to inform the Election Commission of his fine, resulting in a vacancy of the Batu seat.

He said that Tian Chua’s penalty reduction also had to be acknowledged so that the PKR MP would not lose his seat.

The minister also said that if Tian Chua was disqualified, Batu’s constituents would be denied a representative in Parliament.

“We can’t have a by-election because we have crossed the three-year period (…) in fairness, the government feels we should not deny the voters their legally elected representative,” he added.