The opposition leader in the Sarawak state assembly has described his indefinite suspension from sittings since last Thursday as "hanging in the air" because of irregularities and the very high-handed manner in which it was carried out.

"The whole proceedings leading to my suspension are full of irregularities and high-handedness, which have never been seen before in the state assembly,' said Chong Chieng Jen, who is the Kota Sentosa assemblyperson.

NONE Chong was suspended after he said, in his address to the assembly last Thursday, that Minister of Tourism and Minister of Housing Abang Johari Tun Openg was more like an ‘Umno politician'.

After this, Abang Johari in his winding-up speech called on Chong to withdraw the remark as he considered it ‘offensive' and ‘objectionable'.

The opposition leader refused to do so when asked by Speaker Asfia Awang Nasar.

Motion to suspend was not debated

This was followed by the motion to suspend Chong, moved by Minster for Special Affairs in the Chief Minister's Office, Adenan Satem, and seconded by Minister for Local Government and Community Development Wong Sook Koh.

Chong said: "The motion was moved by a minister on the direction of the speaker. That has never been the case. It was also never debated.

NONE "The speaker is supposed to be neutral and by parliamentary convention, the speaker does not speak. He either sends the member out on his own accord or he sits there to chair the session.

"Never before as the speaker of a House directed a minister to move a motion," he stressed, pointing out that the motion to suspend him was never put to vote in the assembly.

"All motions in the House must be put to vote, unless they are thrown out, like all the opposition's motions, on so-called technical grounds.

"But when a motion is not thrown out, it must be voted on in the assembly before it can get through.

"Now that the sitting is over, it is a hanging motion as it was not been passed by vote. It is therefore as good as no motion, and as good as no suspension.

"It goes to show the biasness of the speaker who just wanted to put me out of the Dewan. A speaker cannot have such bias," Chong added.

On a related issue, Chong said Abang Johari ( above, right ) has till now not made clear his stand on the issue of whether he supports Umno coming to Sarawak.

"He has not answered that question, for the people of Sarawak are interested to know whether he intends to bring Umno to Sarawak.

"As a state minister and a senior leader of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu, which is the backbone of the state government, he must make clear whether he intends to bring Umno to Sarawak to consolidate his position in the state and in PBB."