10 days suspension for DAP lawmakers

KUALA LUMPUR: Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia is standing by his decision to suspend three DAP lawmakers for 10 days due to remarks they made against him.
Pandikar said insulting the Dewan Rakyat Speaker is tantamount to being in contempt of Parliament as an institution.
"It's similar to being in contempt of court. You can argue merits of the case, but you can't criticise the judge.
"What is sadder is that the lawmakers are legal professionals so they know what contempt means. These lawmakers didn't care about the ethics of being a lawmaker, they always put their political agenda first,"Pandikar said when met by reporters at the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
Pandikar was responding to the trio - Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham (DAP - Beruas), Nga Kor Ming (DAP- Taiping) and V.Sivakumar (DAP- Batu Gajah) who demanded that Pandikar revise the suspension decision.
Pandikar made the decision on Monday after the trio refused to apologise for openly criticizing him in a press conference made outside parliament.
Earlier, Nga had slammed Pandikar for not giving the lawmakers the right to be heard.
Nga said there are no provisions in the Federal Constitution and the Houses of Parliament (Privileges and Powers) Act 1952 that penalises a lawmaker for criticising the Speaker.
"Criticising or asking the Speaker to resign is within the law and it cannot be assumed as an act to insult the parliament.
"Pandikar has commuted an offence. He abused his powers by suspending three MPs without referring to the Rights and Privileges Committee."
He added DAP Whip Chief Anthony Loke (DAP-Seremban) had filed a motion calling for Pandikar to reconsider his decision to suspend the trio, and he hoped that motion will be debated in Parliament.