Karpal says suspension is unlawful

PETALING JAYA, Dec 17 — DAP chairman Karpal Singh said today the suspension of four Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers yesterday was unlawful as it was not limited to barring them from attending Parliament.

The Bukit Gelugor MP said the motion, which was passed by Parliament yesterday, effectively banned him and three other lawmakers from performing their duties outside the House.

The veteran lawyer pointed out that the Parliament was only empowered to suspend MPs from attending parliamentary proceedings.

“We are suspended from performing our duties as Members of Parliament. Our duties go beyond attending Parliament,” Karpal (picture) said at a press conference.

“We can only be suspended from the service of the House. It is going to be a major point. This is an infringement of our rights as MPs which were provided for under the constitution,” he added.

Apart from attending Parliament, MPs also maintain service centres in their constituencies and often act as mediators between government agencies.

Some local governments also invite their respective MPs to attend council meetings.

Parliament yesterday suspended Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Karpal, Subang MP R. Sivarasa and Gombak MP Azmin Ali.

“In our country Parliament is not supreme, the constitution is supreme. The decision of Parliament must be based on the constitution,” said Karpal.

“When I was suspended in 1994 for insulting the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the wording was very clear, suspended from the service of the House,” he added.

Anwar’s suspension was recommended by Parliament’s Rights and Privileges Committee for claiming earlier this year that Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s public relations consultants APCO Worldwide had been behind both the 1 Malaysia and One Israel concepts.

Karpal, Sivarasa and Azmin were cited for contempt for revealing and discussing the proceedings of the Rights and Privileges Committee on Anwar’s APCO claims.

The three MPs were accused of publishing a letter from APCO addressed to the powerful committee.

Karpal also reiterated PR’s decision to sue Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia over the suspension and expressed surprised over Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz’s remarks that the parliamentary proceedings could not be challenged in court.

He cited the suspension of Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Zambry Kadir from the state assembly, which was overturned by the Federal Court and Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo’s suit against Pandikar for his suspension.

In Gobind’s case, the court decided not to interfere in the Dewan Rakyat’s decision to suspend the lawmaker for one year.

“As a result of Zambry’s case the Dewan Rakyat’s decision can be challenged. As far as we are concern, this case will go to court and we are serious about this,” said Karpal.

“The Speaker was named as a respondent in Gobind’s case. I am surprised that Nazri said the decision of the Dewan cannot be challenged,” he added.