Azalina gives Kit Siang till 11.30am to apologise
PARLIAMENT Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Azalina Othman Said is scheduled to table a second motion to suspend Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Gelang Patah) at 11.30am today.
Speaking to reporters at the Parliament lobby today, Azalina said Lim has until then to clear the air with House speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia, whom he is accused of offending.
PARLIAMENT Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Azalina Othman Said is scheduled to table a second motion to suspend Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Gelang Patah) at 11.30am today.
Speaking to reporters at the Parliament lobby today, Azalina said Lim has until then to clear the air with House speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia, whom he is accused of offending.
"Today's proceedings is quite simple; he can explain himself between now and the time I stand up to read the motion.
"If the speaker accepts what he has to say, the government is happy to withdraw the motion.
"It is now between him and the speaker," she said.
On Monday, Lim ( above ) accused the speaker of abusing his power by obstructing the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) hearing on 1MDB.
Lim also called Pandikar a dictator for sabotaging Parliament's standing orders and politicising his status as the speaker of the House.
Azalina's motion claims Lim's accusation against Pandikar is serious and that an insult to the speaker equates to an insult to the Dewan Rakyat proceedings.
"Thus, it is agreed upon that the Gelang Patah parliamentarian Lim Kit Siang should be suspended for six months from the date the motion is set," reads the motion.
Motion filed again
Azalina was supposed to table the motion yesterday but Pandikar ordered her to retract it.
This was after Lim gave an explanation defending himself, saying he did not berate the speaker.
Pandikar, however, still demanded the DAP supremo to say if he would apologise or retract the statement after an hour-long emergency debate on the haze between 4.30pm and 5.30pm yesterday.
But when the debate ended, Lim had left Parliament, and opposition MPs claimed they were allegedly unaware that he was supposed to make the retraction that day itself.
This prompted Azalina to file the second notice of motion to suspend Lim.
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