KUALA LUMPUR: A DAP member of Parliament was ejected from the Lower House today after he refused to take his seat during a heated exchange with Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun.
The shouting match ensued after Lim Lip Eng (Pakatan Harapan-Kepong) described a ruling made by Azhar's deputy Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said in the house yesterday as 'bodoh' (stupid) and 'jahat' (malicious).
Azalina's ruling was over a remark by Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing (Gabungan Parti Sarawak-Bintulu) on Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
"Can you let me finish talking? How can you say the Speaker is stupid?" Azhar who appeared visibly annoyed with the remarks told Lim.
Lim later retaliated and told Azhar not to conspire with the government.
At this juncture, another government backbencher told Lim to withdraw his remarks against the Speaker to which he refused to do so.
The action by the Kepong MP irked Azhar who told the former several times to take his seat.
"Sit down. Sit down. (If you refuse to take your seat) please leave the House," Azhar told Lim, to which the latter respond that the Speaker was the one who should leave the Lower House.
"Leave the House. You are rude. You are too much," said Azhar, who later announced that Lim would be suspended from the Lower House for two days.
Lim appeared adamant and remained standing at his place when he was approached by the sergeant-at-arms.
"Yang Berhormat, please leave the House. I am extending your suspension to five days," said Azhar, who later told the Dewan Rakyat secretary to call the police since Lim initially refused to leave the House.
Lim finally left the House after fellow opposition MP, Lim Guan Eng, was seen showing gestures to the former to abide the instructions of the speaker.
Earlier, Azhar told the House that the he can't change the ruling made his deputy over the remarks made by Tiong against Dr Noor Hisham.
"According to the Standing Orders, when a ruling is made, it is final," he said.
Azhar was responding to the calls made by Sim Tze Tzin (PH-Bayan Baru) and Guan Eng for Tiong to apologise to Dr Noor Hisham.
At the Dewan Rakyat sitting yesterday, Tiong claimed that Dr Noor Hisham did not go to Sabah to check on the Covid-19 situation there as the Health director-general was 'afraid to die'.
At the daily briefings on the Covid-19 situation in Putrajaya, Dr Noor Hisham brushed aside the remarks by saying that death can occur anywhere whether or not one was on duty or otherwise.
