KUALA LUMPUR, 14 Nov: The Member of Parliament for Padang Serai, N.Surendran, will continue to fight for the rights of Indians in the issue of the demolition of a historical, 100-year-old temple in Jalan P.Ramlee.
Surendran said that he will continue to urge the Government to prevent the demolition from happening despite the Dewan Rakyat’s decision to suspend him for six months.
He said that the action of the Speaker to remove him from the Dewan Rakyat was ‘victimising the people’ because he was speaking out for their rights.
“They managed to get rid of me, however, their action looks like it’s victimising the people; in the end Barisan Nasional (BN) is punishing them. Although I have been removed, the problem has not been solved till now.
“I will continue this effort despite not being able to enter parliamentary sessions, and I will return after six months,” he said.
In the Dewan Rakyat session this morning, BN leaders suspended Surendran from Dewan Rakyat proceedings for six months, after a motion to suspend him was decided divergently.
The motion to suspend Surendran’s membership was submitted by a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Datuk Nancy Shukri, and was passed with support from 92 BN Members of Parliament.
Nancy initially tried to present the motion since 11.30am, but was unsuccessful in doing so following protest after protest from Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Members of Parliament.
They protested because the motion was carried without reference to the Rights and Privileges Committee and the motion was brought without sufficient period for a motion to be debated.
The Dewan Rakyat became chaotic when many PR leaders stood up and chanted ‘usul haram’ (illegal motion), ‘tarik balik’ (withdraw), ‘kuku besi’ (despotic) and banged on the table in protest for over an hour.
Surendran was suspended after allegedly making derogatory remarks about the Speaker as being ‘biased’ and that he issued ‘incorrect facts’ on the issue of the demolition of the temple at Jalan P.Ramlee.
The allegation was considered an affront to the Speaker, who was serving as the chairman, and this means that the insult also discredits the reputation and prestige of the Dewan Rakyat.
Surendran was also thrown out of the Dewan after an argument with the Speaker, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, on the same issue on 12 November.
