Padungan assemblyman Wong King Wei said Asfia was a major “stumbling block” to the state assembly’s reformation.
On Nov 12 last year, Asfia had referred Wong to the committee of privileges after he allegedly challenged the speaker’s impartiality during the state legislative assembly proceedings.
Wong said Asfia had been the speaker for 19 years, which made him the longest-serving speaker in the state.
“The reason is obvious, he is excellent in bending rules to protect his political masters.
“The only way for the state legislative assembly to be more democratic is to remove him from his position. And for that to happen, the state government must change in the next election,” he said.
He said Asfia had always been “creative” to come up with excuses in rejecting motions by the opposition members and protecting the executives from answering their questions which concerned the people.
“This has led him to say that I have challenged his impartiality,” he said, adding that his proposal to allow members to speak without seeking the speaker’s permission had triggered the matter.
“According to Sarawak Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, this (getting the speaker’s permission) is common practice in the Commonwealth countries but it’s not true. This is undemocratic.
“Everyone has the right to speak in the Malaysian parliament. The MPs can press the button and speak about any issue regardless of whether it is relevant or not,” he said.
He said that instead of considering his proposal, Asfia decided to refer him to the committee of privileges.
Wong also challenged the validity of the committee meeting held earlier today because of the absence of its chairman, who is the speaker himself.
“There are a total of seven members in the committee, which was formed under the Standing Orders, but only six had turned up,” he said.
Under the Standing Orders, he said, the chairman has to be present during the meeting.
He also challenged the legality of the referral as there was no substantive motion moved against him to be referred to the committee.
“This is all being conducted based on the speaker’s statement,” he said, adding that he expected to be suspended for six to 12 months.
The committee will have to make its recommendation and submit them to the state legislative assembly, Wong said.