DAP motion to challenge Kit Siang suspension

DAP today filed a substantive motion to challenge the Dewan Rakyat's decision to suspend Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Gelang Patah) for six months.

The motion brought by Gobind Singh Deo (DAP-Puchong) on the grounds that Lim should have been cited to the rights and privileges committee on the charge of insulting the speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia.

He then should have been allowed the right to defend himself before any decision was meted out.

Instead, the decision was made in House after a motion brought by the government, he said.

"Thus, I urge the speaker to allow us to debate a motion which seeks to set aside the speaker's decision to allow the motion (to suspend Lim)," he said.

The House can then make a clear ruling on the procedures related to the suspension of lawmakers, he said.

According to him, the house had used a similar motion to suspend former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak), N Surendran (PKR-Padang Serai) and himself.

"We do not want this to become a trend (where parliamentarians are suspended without being given their right to be heard)," he emphasised.

The rights and privileges committee's hearing as stipulated under the Section 80 of the parliamentary Standing Order existed for a reason, said Gobind further.

"The committee must decide if an offence has been committed and then any punishment. It will later refer back to Parliament for debate," he explained.

"This is a matter of great public interest. When you suspend a parliamentarian, you are in essence taking away of the right of all his constituents to be heard," he added.

'First-degree insult'

Lim was suspended for six months from Parliament for insulting the speaker and the House.

Lim had on Oct 19 accused the speaker of abusing his power to sabotage Public Accounts Committee's (PAC) hearing into 1MDB.

Lim said the speaker had no powers under the Standing Order to postpone PAC hearings and in doing so, had abused his power.

Pandikar ordered Lim to retract his statement and apologise the next day claiming Lim's statement was tantamount to a first-degree insult.

According to Gobind, the speaker can either turn down his motion in chambers or send a notice to the house to allow the motion to be debated. -Mkini