State opposition leader Azmin Ali claimed that speaker Lau Weng San abused his powers by suspending Taman Medan assemblyman Dr Afif Bahardin and Kuang assemblyman Rafiq Abdullah for three days.
“I tried to find a way for the speaker’s decision this morning to be reviewed, as the Taman Medan assemblyman (Afif) neither made accusations nor passed judgment, but merely invoked the standing orders to refer a member (to the rights and privileges committee).
“The Seri Kembangan assemblyman (Wong) had breached the standing orders and should have been referred to the rights and privileges committee, as provided for under the rules, but the speaker abused his authority,” Azmin told a press conference.
According to Utusan Malaysia, Afif and Rafiq raised their objections after Lau rejected the motion to refer Wong to the committee over her remarks on the state’s pig farming issue.
The Malay daily reported that the winding-up debate on the Selangor sultan’s address was delayed by more than 20 minutes when the PN assemblymen challenged the decision.
At the same press conference, Afif said Lau’s grounds for rejecting the motion were unclear.
“Why was my motion rejected? The speaker said it was defective, incomplete, and could not be amended based on his assessment and what was written in the motion. He claimed I did not specify which part of Wong’s statement contradicted the sultan’s decree.
“That matter was very clear … it was widely reported in the media last week. Yet the speaker rejected the argument and the motion,” he said.
He clained that Lau’s decision was flawed and set a poor precedent for the Selangor assembly.
Afif submitted the motion on Thursday morning and pressed for it to be debated, but Lau rejected the request, saying he had not had the opportunity to review the matter.
Wong, while debating the sultan’s address, said the issue of pig farming touched on the right to equality under Article 8(2) of the Federal Constitution.
She argued that pig farming should not be singled out from other forms of livestock farming, as the risks of pollution, hygiene concerns, and public health implications are similar across all types of farming.