Committee, speaker, DUN to face suit over actions against Padungan rep

KUCHING: A suit will soon be brought against the Privileges Committee, the Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) and the DUN over recent actions against Padungan assemblyman Wong King Wei.

In announcing this yesterday, Democratic Action Party ( DAP) Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen said the suit is expected to be filed by the party’s advisor Chong Siew Chiang within a week or two.

“We are of the view that the Privileges Committee has acted unlawfully, which would nullify the whole proceedings, and that the Speaker of the DUN has acted outside his power and unfairly in the whole act of referring Wong to the Privileges Committee,” he said at a news conference after chairing a state DAP committee meeting at the party’s headquarters here.

Chong, who is Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, Stampin MP and Kota Sentosa assemblyman, pointed out that there was a time limit for the judicial review to be done.

“The judicial review will be filed within the time limit of 40 days, or six weeks, from the date of the hearing. That’s when the course of action arose,” he said.

Wong recalled that DUN Speaker Datuk Amar Mohd Asfia Awang Nassar, during the November 2018 sitting, said challenging the impartiality of the Speaker was not allowed in the Commonwealth parliamentary practice.

The DAP lawmaker asserted that the Speaker of the House should not be the one initiating the referral to the Privileges Committee, which is presently chaired by the Speaker himself.

“The Speaker should not be the complainant because this is against the rule of natural justice,” added Wong.

Wong was summoned by the Privileges Committee of the DUN on Feb 18 for a hearing on the referral initiated on Nov 12 last year by Mohd Asfia, who alleged that Wong had challenged his impartiality in conducting the sitting last November.

In that sitting, Wong proposed that all motions tabled by every member of the House be given the chance to be read and debated in the House.

Chong (seated, third left) speaks at the news conference. Seated at second right is Wong.