Azhar suspended for six months

The Penang state legislature has suspended Penang Opposition leader Azhar Ibrahim from the House for six months for ‘uttering seditious words’ during the sitting in May.

Azhar (left), who is Penaga assemblyperson, will still be able to keep his salary and allowances.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng tabled the resolution to suspend Azhar at 230pm, saying that the latter’s remarks not only challenged the rule of law and state constitution, but promoted violence.

“He has diverted too far from his duties as a state assemblyperson chosen by the people to carry out his responsibilities on the basis of democracy,” said Lim.

“He has also been given the opportunity to apologise, which he refused. If he apologised in this House, we will not prolong the matter,” Lim (right) added.

BN and PR reps debated whether to suspend Azhar for about an hour before the decision was made by the  majority.

The decision prompted all Umno state assemblypersons to stage a walkout, but they returned to the hall after escorting Azhar to the opposition room, where he held a press conference.

He was referred to the rights and privileges committee following his remarks which had led to pandemonium in the House.

Procedure used incorrect, says Azhar

The powerful committee, which has met several times to deliberate on the case, submitted its report to the state assembly at 2.30pm today.

Azhar was asked to apologise for his remarks to escape disciplinary action but he refused.

He said a resolution should have been proposed and debated, and only then a decision made as to whether or not to refer him to the committee.

In the House today, Azhar claimed that the charges against him were unclear and not specific.

He also said that the decision to refer him to the privileges and rights committee was an “afterthought” as it happened 15 minutes after breaktime and not right after he made his statement.

He claimed that he had actually withdrawn his statement when asked to do so by the speaker.

“So what else should I withdraw and apologise for?” he asked.

In May, Datuk Keramat assemblyperson Jagdeep Singh (right) had tabled a motion to refer Azhar to the committee.

This was after Azhar had called for the army to take over from the police since the state administration had said it no longer has confidence in the police. He warned that racial riots could recur if people lose faith in the government.

He also mentioned a group named 'Tiga Barisan' in a veiled threat to a gang that would not baulk at going against the Pakatan Rakyat state government.

Azhar later clarified that he made the remarks because the state government was prone to insulting the police and had claimed that the force is trigger happy.

In August, committee chairperson Abdul Halim Hussein, who is also the speaker, said that assembly members will be supplied with a list of words deemed ‘unparliamentary’ during the current sitting.