MALAYSIAN OPPOSITION DAP PARLIMENTARY LEADER SUSPENDED FROM PARLIMENT FOR 6 MONTHS

DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang has been suspended from Parliament for six months for insulting speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, in a proceeding marred by protests and heckling.

The motion to suspend the Gelang Patah MP was tabled by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said amid protests from opposition MPs.

It was passed in a bloc vote, with the final result of 107 yeas versus 77 nays. This came after a voice vote was taken.

This was the first time since the start of the current sitting, the last for this year, that a motion was moved to suspend a Member of Parliament.

The motion noted that Lim had accused Pandikar of abusing his power and "sabotaging" the investigations into 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) on Monday during the debate on the appointment of the new Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman.

• The motion also said Lim had called Pandikar a "dictator" and that he had politicised his position as the chair of the lower house of Parliament.
• "The accusations by The Honourable Gelang Patah is very serious and is an insult to the speaker of Dewan Rakyat and it is also an insult to the Dewan Rakyat proceedings," read the motion.
• Despite the suspension, Lim's pay and allowances will not be frozen.

Source: The Malaysian Insider...More...