KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 — DAP lawmaker Gobind Singh Deo today filed a substantive motion to challenge Lim Kit Siang’s six-month suspension from Parliament, on grounds that the decision was procedurally wrong.
The Puchong MP argued that Lim should have been subjected to a hearing by the House Rights and Privileges Committee to determine if he had in fact acted in contempt of Parliament, instead of having his punishment decided through a motion seeking his suspension.
“We don’t want it to be a trend where MPs are suspended just like that,” Gobind said at a news conference at the Parliament lobby here.
“MPs are here to represent the voice of the people, and any decision to remove them for any period of time should be looked at seriously,” he added.
Gobind claimed that Lim’s case should have been dealt with under Standing Order 80A, which requires a member who commits an alleged act of contempt to be referred to the Rights and Privileges Committee.
Should the Speaker agree to allow the motion to be tabled, Gobind said it will likely be debated and voted by next week at the soonest.
On October 22, Lim, who is DAP’s Gelang Patah MP, was suspended for six months from Parliament for insulting Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia.
The veteran MP reportedly accused Pandikar of exceeding his authority when he ordered the suspension of PAC’s 1MDB probe until a new chairman was appointed.
Two days prior to the decision, Pandikar ordered Lim to apologise or retract his remarks questioning credibility following the suspension of the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) probe into state investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
Pandikar also ordered the DAP parliamentary leader to explain himself at the next opportune time, as the latter was not in the Dewan Rakyat at the time.
Lim, however, did not apologise or retract his remarks, and went on today to add that even the public would agree that Pandikar had abused his powers by suspending the PAC’s probe on 1MDB.
