Thesun 2009-07-16 Page03 One Year Suspension For Khir

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| THURSDAY JULY 16 2009

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Maria J. Dass at the Selangor State Assembly yesterday

One year suspension for Khir ORIENTAL DAILYPIX

SELANGOR Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo was suspended from the Selangor state legislative assembly for one year for failure to attend its Select Committee for Competency Accountability and Transparency (Selcat) hearing in March and for making statements that insulted the committee and subsequently the Dewan in his blog and statements to the media. The Sungai Panjang state assemblyman was also stripped of his RM4,000 monthly allowance and all other privileges during the duration of suspension. Four other Barisan Nasional (BN) assemblymen Warno Dogol (Sabak), Mohd Isa Abu Kasim (Batang Kali), Datuk Marsum Paing (Dengkil) and Datuk Mohamed Idris Abdu Bakar (Hulu Bernam) were suspended for six months and stripped of their privileges for the duration of the suspension for making statements that insulted the assembly. The remaining 15 BN assemblymen staged a boycott on the remaining session which ended in protest against the suspensions. He said his actions of not attending the Selcat hearing was merely an insult to Selcat and not to the legislative assembly – an opinion which Speaker Teng Chang Khim disagrees

‘Anwar not at crime scene’ by S. Tamarai Chelvi [email protected]

Khir is followed out of the assembly by fellow reps.

with saying that Selcat was an entity set up by the assembly and therefore a part of it. Just as he was finishing his speech, Abdul Khalid and Sekinchan assemblyman stood up to question him but Mohd Khir walked out of the Dewan, leaving his mike on and everyone, including deputy speaker Haniza Talha, astounded. Later, in his wrap-up speech, Abdul Khalid said: “This is the behaviour of a

small person who was once the mentri besar of this state, but whose behaviour is not befitting his status. “It is worrying how he mixed up the principles of law and altered facts in his debate when arguing about the precincts of the Dewan. It shows weakness in mind. “I initially felt that the penalty of suspension against him was a bit too harsh, but after seeing his behaviour, I think there is no use him being

Walkout by 21 BN members TWENTY Barisan Nasional opposition assemblymen led by Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo walked out of the state assembly sitting to protest a motion to suspend the former mentri besar and four others. The penalty was agreed by the state assembly’s Rights and Privileges Committee on Mohd Khir and Datuk Marsum Paing (Dengkil), Datuk Warno Dogol (Sabak), Mohd Isa Abu Kasim (Batang Kali) and Datuk Mohamed Idris Abdu Bakar (Hulu Bernam). In his speech during a debate on the proposal of the penalty before walking out, Mohd Khir said the motion aimed to silence the opposition in the house. He said although the Special Select Committee on Competence, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat) and the Rights and Privileges Committee were under the state assembly, his not attending the Selcat public inquiry and statements on Selcat made by his colleagues should not be considered as contempt. This was because the term “Dewan” under Article 77 of the Selangor State Constitution 1959 was “a sitting assembly” whereas the Selcat hearing and the statements issued by the BN assemblymen were outside the state assembly sitting.

Mohd Khir also questioned why the public inquiry on the Selangor State Assemblymen’s Wives Welfare Organisation issue was held when the organisation was under the jurisdiction of the Registrar of Societies and not the state government as it was a non-governmental organisation. He also questioned why he should be called to attend the inquiry, not being a Balkis member. He said the motion should not have been raised in the state assembly. Lau Weng San (DAP-Kampung Tunku), who tabled the motion, later interjected that Teng did not vote in making the proposal to suspend the five assemblymen. Before walking out of the house, Mohd Khir said: “I hope the integrity of this august house is maintained.” As he walked out, several assemblymen jeered, calling him a coward. Mohd Khir later told newsmen the BN did not want to take part in a debate on a motion whose validity was disputed. He said three lawyers monitored the proceedings to determine the type of legal action that could be taken against Teng or the Rights and Privileges Committee. The assembly later passed the motion. – Bernama

here,” said Abdul Khalid. “The Dewan will not lose anything if this kind of people are not around,” he said, adding that confusion arising from Mohd Khir’s statements should be rectified so that it does not confuse future lawmakers. Subang Jaya assemblyman Hannah Yeoh said the boycott was meaningless because the BN assemblymen were not around most of the time anyway.

Strong support for Selangor govt: Survey SHAH ALAM: The Selangor Pakatan Rakyat govenment and its Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim have found strong support in the people of the state, a survey by the Merdeka Centre for Opinion Research found. Conducted from June 5-15 via phone interviews with 1,360 registered voters, the survey found 60% of Selangor citizens saying the state was heading in the right direction. Sixty-three percent were satisfied with the performance of the mentri besar, while 19% expressed dissatisfaction. Some 64% of the people of Selangor are satisfied with the government’s performance after its win in the March 2008 general election, while 22 % are dissatisfied. The survey found 59% of Malays, 69% of the Chinese and 69% of Indians expressing satisfaction. Commissioned by the state government, it identified areas the state would need to improve on, including its communication outlets, creating awareness of its programmes, reducing bureaucratic red tape and better service delivery.

Court orders Kugan’s specimen to be stored intact KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here yesterday issued a temporary order for all documents and post-mortem samples in relation to A. Kugan, who died in police custody, to be stored in the original form. Justice Datuk Ghazali Cha issued the order after allowing an application by Kugan’s mother N. Indra for the documents, issue, blood and fluid samples to be stored until the court hears an application to strike out the police search warrant. “I am applying for the status quo of the material to be restored. The postmortem being carried out at the pa-

thology department of the University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) could not be completed because the police had seized the materials,” Indra’s counsel N. Surendran submitted. The court postponed to July 30 the hearing of the application to strike out the search warrant issued on April 6. The date was fixed after Surendran applied for a postponement to enable him to prepare a reply to a written submission put in by the prosecution this morning. Deputy public prosecutor Idham Abdul Ghani told the court that the prosecution would file an objection

to the application to strike out the search warrant as the court had no authority to hear and decide on it. The application was also legally restricted as the seizure (of the documents and samples) was authorised for police investigations, he added. On May 28, Indra filed a suit against the police for seizing documents and samples related to Kugan’s second autopsy from UMMC pathology department chief’s office on April 6. Kugan, 22, who was arrested in connection with the theft of luxury cars died in police custody on Jan 20. – Bernama

Ferry terminal berth closed pg 6

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was not at the scene of an alleged sodomy, his lawyer said at a High Court hearing of an application for documents relating to the case yesterday. Edmund Bon said the defence was seeking evidence in support of its case. “We have issued the prosecution with an alibi notice,” he said. “We are saying that this is what we want, with details and specifics, and without these documents we are unable to conduct the defence properly.” Bon said the defence had to put up its case at the earliest possible opportunity. “We say it is a political conspiracy, the complainant cannot be believed. Anwar was not at the time at the place of the incident. There is conclusive evidence that no penetration occurred and this was said by four different doctors.” He said the chain of evidence had been tampered with and that the defence wanted continuous closed circuit TV recordings from June 25-27 to ascertain time as the still photographs and log book contained discrepancies. Bon said the defence wanted its experts to examine the documents. “This is a bona fide application. We are not fishing.” Asking for DNA samples, he said the defence wanted

to ascertain whether these were actual samples. He also asked for the witness list. Counsel Amer Hamzah Arshad said the prosecution was relying on forensic and DNA evidence. “For the defence to be effectively prepared, notes prepared by the chemist and doctors are relevant not only to the accused, but also for the purpose of ascertaining the truth of the matter,” he said. Solicitor-General Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden said the prosecution supplies documents which it intends to tender in court. He said the defence could ask for sections of notes referred to in the course of examination. “They are not entitled to notes because they are not admissible and cannot be tendered.” Earlier, Judge Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Diah had ordered that the case proceed without lead counsel Sulaiman Abdullah who temporarily discharged himself. “There have been eight other equally competent lawyers appearing before me from day one,” he said. Saying written submissions had already been filed, Mohd Zabidin also denied the defence’s request for an adjournment to appoint a new lawyer. Counsel R. Sivarasa said the defence would proceed with the application under protest. The hearing continues today.

MACC zooms in on Selangor PR reps THE service centres of two Selangor state assemblymen Ean Yong Hian Wah (DAP-Seri Kembangan) and Lau Weng San (DAP-Kampung Tunku) were visited by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers late yesterday morning. In the afternoon, five officers visited Ean Yong’s office in the Selangor state secretariat and told his political secretary Teoh Beng Hock that they had orders to investigate “reports that allocations from assemblymen were not reaching the rakyat”. Teoh said they did not produce any identification or warrant. He only obtained the name card of an officer Mohd Najib Ahmad Walat and another identified himself as Anuar. They claimed that they were from the Putrajaya and Selangor MACC branches. He was also told that the files of assemblymen in several other district officers were being scrutinised. Teoh was informed that the MACC had the right to seize documents from the office under Section 31 of the MACC Act. It is learnt that they seized some files, a computer CPU and a laptop from Ean Yong’s office. In addition, they asked Teoh to follow them to the Selangor MACC office in Plaza Masalam for further interrogation. At about 3.10pm, media covering the Selangor state as-

sembly sitting were told of the officers’ presence and made their way to the 15th floor of the state secretariat building. The officers, surprised at the presence of the media, went downstairs, saying they were not comfortable with the presence of reporters and cameramen. It is learnt they returned later with two more officers. Earlier, at Ean Yong’s service centre in Seri Kembangan, three officers questioned his assistant about allocations disbursed to his constituents, including suppliers and associations. “Our recipients have been questioned and intimidated by these officers,” said Ean Yong. “Our constituents are being made victims of their scrutiny,” he said, adding that this was an effort to portray Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen in a bad light. This MACC is no longer a credible authority to stamp out corruption but is merely a tool to protect Barisan Nasional and Umno leaders. On Monday Kinrara assemblyman Teresa Kok said MACC officers had called up recipients of funds from her office and the offices of Elizabeth Wong (PKR-Bukit Lanjan) and visited the office of Subang Jaya asemblyman Hanna Yeoh to question her assistant on money allocated for a health clinic for the poor.