KUALA LUMPUR: Pendang member of parliament (MP) Datuk Awang Hashim has been suspended from attending the Dewan Rakyat sitting for four days.
The ruling was made by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul after the opposition had questioned the government's submission of the motion of thanks on the royal address.
The ruckus erupted after the Perikatan Nasional (PN) chief whip Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan questioned the government's sudden motion of thanks for the King, saying that they were not informed of the matter.
This comes after Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said raised a Standing Order to table the motion of thanks for the King. The motion tabled was also accepted by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul.
However, Takiyuddin said that the sudden motion could interfere with the royal debate scheduled to take place among lawmakers.
"As a lawmaker, we need to adhere to the House's rules. So, why aren't we following the rules (of the House)?
"We can even do it (the motion of thanks for the King) during the third week of this session," he said.
Johari, however, said that the Standing Order raised by Azalina was carried out through the proper House's rules.
"That is the rule, she submits a motion (for my approval) and I use my power to move (to allow the motion)."
Soon after, they staged a walkout while Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was delivering his speech to congratulate His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim's appointment as the new King of Malaysia.
Meanwhile, Awang during a press conference in Parliament said the ruling made by Johari was made based on emotions as no proper reason was given for his suspension.
"I do not know the reason for my suspension as I did not say anything to pressure the speaker. I only walked out and I was suspended for four days.
"Isn't this an emotional decision by him? Why isn't he looking into the issue or checking the Hansard before making any decision?"
The ruling suspension made against Awang, however, was retracted by Johari about an hour later after Awang had withdrawn his remarks.
However, both parties did not specify the remark made by Awang in Dewan Rakyat that led to his suspension.