Protesters standing their ground inside the Penang state assembly after illegally entering the building during the assembly meeting today. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Hasnoor Hussain, May 21, 2014.The Penang legislative assembly has strongly condemned the intrusion into the house by a group of protesters this afternoon.
Speaker Datuk Law Choo Kiang said he was extremely disappointed over the incident after a group of 30 men stormed past security and broke into the house.
"This has never happened before in the history of the assembly... I still see that there is room for issues to be brought up in a civilised manner, rather than by acting violently by breaking through the gate and violating the sanctity of this august house,” he said in a statement.
Law said he wanted the police to investigate this incident to ensure that the state legislative sitting this session could proceed safely.
He said he has requested the police to station personnel at the entrance of the state legislative assembly building until the session ends on Friday.
Earlier this afternoon, a mob stormed the building, demanding to see Seri Delima assemblyman R.S.N. Rayer who allegedly insulted Umno when he said "Umno celaka" during the sitting yesterday.
During the commotion, several men slipped past security and ran into the house, interrupting the session.
The mob continued to protest at the gate for about 30 minutes until the police told them to leave.
The state legislative assembly was placed under a lockdown to prevent anyone entering the building.
Later, opposition leader Datuk Jahara Hamid and Pulau Betong assemblyman Muhammad Farid Saad approached the crowd and told three representatives to come inside to talk to the speaker.
They went into the meeting room for about 10 minutes with Law and several members of the state exco.
The disrupted sitting in the afternoon resumed at 3.50pm.
Local government exco Chow Kon Yeow (DAP-Padang Kota) immediately tabled a motion under Regulation 34 (8) to condemn the intrusion.
The motion was supported by members of the house.
"This unprecedented incident marks a black day in the history of Malaysia's democratic system."
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