Umno state assemblypersons have come out in support of Opposition leader Azhar Ibrahim, saying the action to refer him to the Rights and Privileges Committee was ‘unconventional'.

NONE Hilmi Yahaya (BN-Teluk Bahang) who led the press conference outside the state assembly said that speaker Abdul Halim Hussain had acted in an "unconventional manner" based on the order of Jagdeep Singh Deo (DAP-Dato' Keramat) who alone, called for Azhar to be reprimanded.

"The action was taken about 15 minutes after lunch. Before that the Speaker had already issued a warning to Azhar and he withdrew his statement," said Hilmi ( left ), who was former Penang deputy chief minister.

"We thought the matter had been settled and that the speaker satisfied with the outcome as the proceedings of the assembly continued after the incident," he added.

Earlier, a motion was passed to refer Azhar to the Rights and Privileges Committee for uttering seditious words and inciting ill-will among different races.

Azhar will go before the powerful committee on charges of seeking "to forment rebellion through his seditious remarks" and "to create hatred and hostility among the races.

Arif Shah (BN-Seberang Jaya) clarified that Azhar mentioned the intervention of the army in the context of the state government's criticisms against the credibility of the police force.

He said Azhar was concerned about ‘peace and security' of the state, and proposed that if the police could not carry out their duty, the army should be called in to do the job.

NONE "They kept saying the police needed to be re-trained and that they were cruel; they also called the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission an Umno gangster," he said.

"They repeated many times that Umno was corrupt and a gangster," lamented Arif.

On the issue of May 13, Jahara Hamid (BN-Ayer Tawar) said the statement by Azhar ( right ) that the racial crisis which happened in 1969 would recur should not be wrongly interpreted by the Pakatan Rakyat government.

‘Few bad apples'

She said that Umno and Barisan Nasional highly appreciate the existing unity and harmony in Malaysia and will continue to work for ‘1Malaysia'.

"But they kept calling us Umno gangsters and corrupted, how can three million Umno members be like that?" she asked.

"Please do not label all of us bad just because of a few bad apples," she added.

However, Azhar's remark this morning has irked members of the BN coalition partner, the MCA.

The party's publicity bureau deputy chairperson Loh Seng Kok said the party regretted the remarks made by Azhar which warned of a repeat of May 13.

"That remark, along with his statement of Malay gangsters "to teach a lesson" is hurtful and insensitive to the feelings of decent Malaysians, as well as an insult to the Malays as it portrays them to be a violent race," said Loh in a press statement to the media.

"Azhar's statement is also seditious as well as it warns of inciting racial riots again," he added.

Lim reminded Umno that the immunity of the state assembly is not a carte blanche to misuse the freedom of speech which is given.

malaysiakini interview loh seng kok 061108 02 Loh ( left ) said Azhar's call for the army to take over from the police was unnecessary as the country was not in a state of emergency.

"By asking the army to take over, Azhar may have struck fear into Malaysians with images of the Emergency period coming back to those who have lived through that era," he said.

"Bearing in mind that many multinational companies park their factories in Penang, Azhar's miscalculated statements can drive away foreign direct investments," he added.