The motion was moved by Human Resources Minister M Kula Segaran, who said Tajuddin had insulted the Hindu religion when he asked RSN Rayer (PH-Jelutong) if the sacred ash, or vibhuti, on his forehead was the ash of Communist leader Chin Peng.

“Pasir Salak has insulted the Hindu religion. The house sees this as a serious matter as he has offended the feelings of MPs from the Hindu community,” he said.

This saw tempers flare as opposition MPs disagreed with the motion.

Deputy Speaker Nga Kor Ming muted the mike several times to silence the shouting match.

Ramkarpal Singh (PH-Bukit Gelugor) then stood up amid the shouting and stated that Tajuddin had also “spoken about murder” in the Dewan Rakyat.

“When I asked where is Pasir Salak, he said we also murdered Birch,” he said, referring to British resident JWW Birch who was murdered in Pasir Salak during the colonial period.

“What was he trying to say? He was talking about murder in the Dewan,” he said, adding that the threat was also in the Hansard and circulated widely in the social media.

This created another round of shouting as Umno MPs raised dissatisfaction, forcing Nga to mute the mikes again.

Nga then reminded them to follow the house rules, assuring that the opposition bloc would be given space to speak.

But the opposition MPs, including Tajuddin, Shahidan Kassim (BN-Arau) and Bung Moktar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan) continued to raise their voices.

“If the opposition is not keen to debate and follow rules, we will go straight to voting,” Nga said.

When the shouting by several opposition MPs still continued, Nga called for a voice vote, which saw more agreeing that Tajuddin be referred to the Parliamentary Rights and Privileges Committee.

Today was the last day of the Dewan Rakyat sitting for this session. It started on Oct 7.