Sarawak speaker Asfia Awang Nassar came under fire from Pending assemblyman, Violet Yong of DAP, after Chong Chieng Jen was suspended.PETALING JAYA: Assemblymen should not double up as MPs, Sarawak state assembly speaker Asfia Awang Nassar said today following a heated exchange over the suspension of opposition leader Chong Chieng Jen.
The argument was sparked after Pending assemblyman, Violet Yong of DAP, said it was unfair for Asfia to say that Chong had chosen not to attend the sitting. She said Asfia "knew very well” that Chong, who is Stampin MP, was at the Dewan Rakyat for a parliamentary matter, yet had allowed the motions against him at the state assembly to proceed.
Yong then accused Asfia of denying Chong’s right to defence, which was, embarrassingly, against the principle of natural justice. In response, Asfia said Yong and Chong, who is also Padungan assemblyman, came to see him seeking an exemption, to which he agreed.
