Speaker checking if Rafizi's arrest at gates was on Parliament grounds

Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia was unable to rule if inspector-general of police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar breached parliamentary Standing Order by arresting Rafizi Ramli (PKR-Pandan) at the Parliament gates.

This is because, he said, he was unclear if the venue of Rafizi's arrest, which happened outside the Parliament gate, is considered part of the Parliament building's precinct.

Thus, he is seeking the relevant information from the concerned parties before making a ruling.

He, however, said the police need to send the speaker a notice if they want to take action within the Parliament compound.

"I am now getting the information from the concerned party, whether the area the incident happened falls within the precinct of the Parliament," he told the Dewan Rakyat.

"Secondly, (I) need to take into consideration whether the Section 1(e) of the Standing Order has been breached," he added.

He promised he will make a ruling on the matter.

The speaker was responding to a motion brought by Johari Abdul (PKR-Sungai Petani), who said the IGP has acted in contempt of Parliament.

Johari said the speaker acts as protection for parliamentarians and needs to uphold the sanctity of the House.

[More to follow]

-Mkini