Machang MP suspended for 6 months

by NURUL NAJMIN ABU BAKAR 

THE Dewan Rakyat today approved a motion to suspend Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal (PN-Machang) from attending parliamentary sessions for six months following his statement regarding the mastermind behind the takeover of Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) on July 1. 

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said, when presenting the motion, said the Dewan Rakyat took Wan Fayhsal’s statement regarding the viral anonymous letter, which allegedly contained information about the true mastermind behind the MAHB takeover, very seriously.

According to her, Wan Fayhsal (picture), who was debating the Annual Report and Financial Statement of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) 2021 and 2022 in the Dewan Rakyat, had named an officer from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) as the mastermind.

She stated that this act had caused significant harm not only to the accused individual but also generally to agency officers under the ministry who might be unjustly affected by such baseless accusations.

“In debates, Members of Parliament are not allowed to mention the conduct or character of any government officer other than their conduct in carrying out their duties as government officers.

The allegations by Machang are seen as an act that undermines the dignity of agency officers under the ministry who have been working tirelessly to assist the administration in developing Malaysia,” she told Dewan Rakyat today.

Before the decision was made, Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (PN-Kota Bharu) and Mohd Azli Yusof (PH-Shah Alam) were allowed to debate by the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, Tan Sri Johari Abdul.

The motion to suspend the head of Bersatu Youth was passed through a division vote, with 110 Members of Parliament in favour, 63 against, three abstaining, and 46 absent. — TMR