Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz's motion to suspend Puchong member of Parliament Gobind Singh for 12 months was passed in Parliament today.

The motion, which sought to punish the MP for calling Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak a "murderer" during a heated parliamentary debate, was passed via a voice vote after a debate lasting for about 40 minutes.

gobind suspended from parliament 160309 02 After the voting and during Nazri's winding-up speech on the motion, the opposition block had walked out of the House in protest.

This means first-time parliamentarian Gobind is suspended with immediate effect, without salary, allowances and perks.

The suspended MP will be deprived of RM157,303.68 in salary and allowances over the next 12 months.

The motion was earlier filed at about 11.30am before Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia.

The tabling of the motion was quickly followed by strong protest from the opposition bench which tried to derail the motion, causing a standoff for almost an hour.

Pandikar managed to calm to situation only at about 12.15p.m. and allowed the parliamentarians to debate on the motion.

The motion was filed over Gobind's unparliamentary conduct last Thursday when he implicated Najib in the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu.

The motion stated that Gobind's accusations against Najib were serious and breached the privileges he enjoyed as a parliamentarian.

It also said that Gobind had insulted deputy speaker Ronald Kiandee and the House.

Speaker has wide and absolute powers

Earlier, Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur) argued that although the motion was allowed to be debated based on its "urgency", a seven-day notice should have been issued before it is debated.

parliament speaker pandikar amin pc 250608 03 Pandikar ( right ) rebutted this, saying that it should be debated now since ‘Parliament is no longer like a first-world Parliament anymore’.

Immediately after the motion was read, Kamaruddin Jaafar (PAS-Tumpat) suggested that the matter be referred to the Committee of Privileges instead of leaving it to the House to decide.

"I believe it is clear according to Standing Order 80 (1) that we are required to refer this matter to the Committee of Privileges," he said.

However, Pandikar said the speaker has wide and absolute powers to interpret the Standing Orders.

"The House has bigger powers than the Committee of Privileges, I want you, the members of the House, to debate and decide on this," he stressed.

Karpal defends his son

The speaker however paid full attention to Gobind's father, opposition veteran Karpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Gelugor) who hammered out a string of questions to scrutinise the motion.

Karpal questioned the validity of the motion as Najib is not a party in the Altantuya murder trial.

"So, how can this be subjudice?" he asked.

He further questioned the motion as it was tabled by Nazri, whom he described as a "baby boy minister" instead of Najib himself.

"Who reported this matter? Najib isn't even here," said Karpal.

Pandikar however accused Gobind for "hiding behind immunity" when he made the remarks in the House last week.

"I would not know if he needs to be given time to prepare. If it happens in the House, people would not know, but the remarks are stated in the Hansard," said Pandikar.

parliament pandikar amin anwar ibrahim lim kit siang dap pkr pc 121108 06 Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim (PKR-Permatang Pauh) argued that Gobind should be given the floor to explain himself before being punished.

"This is a serious allegation and the decision should not be made based on a minister's statement and casting of votes.

Anwar also said that Gobind, as the accuser, has the right to back his claims with evidence, and should not be punished by the House without being allowed to defend himself.

"He should be given room to explain himself, so that the people will be satisfied. If his allegation turns out to be untrue, he can be punished... but we should not use a political debate to punish him. That's not the way," he said.

Louder Ayes than Nays

Pandikar however was adamant about his decision to allow Nazri to proceed with his winding-up speech without allowing Gobind to address the House.

Before proposing the motion to be approved, Nazri said that Najib could not be present in the House today as he "did not want to influence BN MPs to support him".

He denied that the move showed Najib - who is expected to be appointed prime minister later this month - was not able to tolerate criticism.

gobind suspended from parliament 160309 nazri "What if I call your mother a prostitute in the name of freedom of expression? I said she is a prostitute and I had her for two nights, is that fair?" Nazri told a press conference.

"(Gobind) is not just accusing a MP but the deputy premier for a hideous crime. He must be punished for the severity of the his allegation against the deputy premier," he said.

As Nazri read out his motion, a shouting match ensued between MPs on both sides of the political divide, but Nazri went on with his speech, saying that it was already enough for Karpal to defend his son, and that there was no need to allow Gobind the chance to explain.

"We are not discussing about a crime or evidence. We are talking about the intention behind those remarks made. It goes to show that such an action is kurang ajar (rude) against the deputy prime minister... now I beg to propose," said Nazri.

Pandikar then allowed a voice vote to take place and the motion to suspend Gobind for one year was approved, as " Setuju " (aye) seemed louder than " Tidak" (nay).

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