The MCA presidential council today requested the disciplinary committee to hear the case of the party's two Penang state assembly members who had abstained from voting during a recent legislature sitting.

Party president Dr Ling Liong Sik said the decision was in accordance with the MCA constitution which views "discipline as a serious matter that should be correctly handled by the disciplinary committee".

No deadline has been fixed for the committee to finish the case as it is "not polite to give our party elders one", he said after chairing a one-hour council meeting at the party headquarters in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon.

Nonetheless, Ling hoped the committee will treat it urgently so that their report and action recommended can be conveyed to the council "as soon as possible".

He added that the duo's membership would remain as status quo pending the investigation.