Penang Opposition Leader Azhar Ibrahim will not attend the rights and privileges committee hearing over an accusation that an entry in the state assembly's Hansard had been "manipulated".

NONE Azhar said he has received a letter from the committee's assistant secretary, Siti Asma Mohd Salleh, requesting his presence before the state legislative assembly panel on June 25.

However, the Penaga assemblyperson said he is not bothered by the request and does not plan on replying the letter either.

"They can suspend me, I am not bothered. I have (gone through) the rights and privileges committee meeting (previously). I know what the result will be like, so I am not going," he said in an interview.

"For me, it is a kangaroo court. Earlier, I attended a rights and privileges committee ... (as) I wanted to be fair.

"When they suspended me, even though the resolution against me was wrong, I gave up. I'd be wasting my time. It is better for me to sit in my office and read the newspapers."

At the last state assembly sitting in May, Azhar had got himself in hot soup by urging the state government to prove to him that the Hansard was "foolproof" and beyond manipulation.

NONE He made the remark after accusing Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng of making a seditious statement in allegedly saying that Hindu temples would be demolished if Umno regains power in Penang.

Lim clarified that he had only said he "felt that Hindu temples would be threatened" if Umno regains power in Penang.

Azhar's comment earned him a rebuke from the DAP's Dato Keramat representative Jagdeep Singh Deo, who raised a motion to suspend him based on assembly's Standing Orders 34(4) and 34(9).

Jagdeep accused Azhar of insulting the House and for bringing the state assembly and speaker into disrepute, and his motion was unanimously carried by all the Pakatan Rakyat representatives in the House.

All 11 BN assemblypersons were not there that morning.

Azhar was then suspended with immediate effect, with the committee being left to determine the duration of his suspension. A decision is expected next week.

Speaker may be ‘biased'

Azhar, who has expressed his desire to retire after the next general election, claimed the hearing will not be fair to him since the speaker - who had issued the resolution to suspend him - would be chairing the committee.

NONE The speaker - Abdul Halim Hussein ( right ) - should recuse himself as chairperson and his place should be taken by someone who is non-partisan, said Azhar.

He also noted that the panel would comprise five Pakatan members (including the chairperson) and four from the BN.

Azhar said he had made the statement about the Hansard outside the House - at a press conference called by the Umno assemblypersons on May 7.

"The speaker made a lot of noise then and accused me (of wrongdoing), so he is already biased," said Azhar.

During the BN's tenure in the state government, he pointed out, not one opposition member had been kicked out or suspended from the assembly.

In 1990, when there were 14 DAP members in the House, no opposition representative had been referred to the rights and privileges committee even though they had often "argued fiercely".

"There was freedom, they could say whatever they liked. We (in BN) never dragged anyone to the committee or suspended any representative, " he said.

"Currently, the accuser, judge and prosecutor are all the same people. How can this be? Don't talk about CAT (competency, accountability and transparency) if you want to practise this system."

Azhar has been suspended twice previously - for allegedly showing his bottom to the speaker and for allegedly making seditious remarks about the racial riots of May 13, 1969.

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