KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 — DAP insisted today that Kota Melaka MP Sim Tong Him is still a party member after his recent year-long suspension cast doubt over his representation in the Dewan Rakyat.
DAP parliamentary whip Anthony Loke said he spoke with Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia earlier today and added that Sim’s seat in the House within the DAP circle remains unchanged.
"His membership was suspended and he was not expelled. Following that, he is still a DAP member and his status as Kota Melaka MP does not change.
"I also never asked for the Dewan Rakyat Speaker to change his seating," he a press conference at the Parliament lobby.
The Seremban MP also denied Sim’s allegations of being sidelined within the party and division within the Malacca DAP.
"There is a new leadership. There is no such thing as he being sidelined. We still regard him as important and ask his views on matters," Loke said.
Commenting on the status of Malacca state assemblyman Goh Leong San, Loke condemned the statement made by state legislative assembly speaker Datuk Othman Muhamad who claimed that Goh was now an independent lawmaker.
"The decision to announce the status of Duyong assemblyman is wrong. Goh has only been suspended from the party for 12 months and the Duyong seat still belongs to DAP," he said.
He explained that DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng’s letter to Malacca state legislative assembly speaker Datuk Othman Muhamad dated March 8, 2016, merely stated that he was the state’s new opposition leader, replacing Goh, and that Bandar Hilir assemblyman Tey Kok Kiew has been appointed as the DAP chief whip.
National newswire Bernama yesterday reported Othman as saying that Goh was now an independent assemblyman.
Bernama reported Goh as saying in a separate news report that he was “inclined to the people”, when reporters asked if he was pro-government or pro-opposition.
The DAP disciplinary committee had issued the one-year suspension from this February 7 against Goh and Sim, for allegedly disparaging the party through a court case against another party member.
In February, Sim reportedly said he and Goh had decided against appealing the suspension within the allocated 14-day period, claiming that the disciplinary action was based on feelings of animosity over a personal conflict blown up into a bigger issue.
