Sarawak DUN suspends DAP’s Chong Chieng Jen for remainder of sitting over unsubstantiated allegations

Chong Chieng Jen (DAP-Padungan) has been suspended from the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) for the remainder of the sitting due to misleading the House and making unsubstantiated allegations during the 2027 Sarawak Budget debate.

The motion, moved by Transport Minister Datuk Seri Lee Kim Shin, passed with a significant majority and was based on Chong's repeated use of unverifiable information and offensive language.

DUN Speaker Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohd Asfia Awang Nassar cited multiple Standing Orders that Chong violated, emphasizing the responsibilities that accompany the right to speak and scrutinize within parliamentary democracy.

KUCHING, Oct 16 — Chong Chieng Jen (DAP-Padungan) has been suspended for the remainder of the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting for misleading the House and making unsubstantiated allegations while debating the 2027 Sarawak Budget.

Transport Minister and Senadin assemblyman Datuk Seri Lee Kim Shin yesterday moved the motion to suspend Chong, which was passed with 62 votes in favour, one against and one abstention.

DUN Speaker Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohd Asfia Awang Nassar announced that the suspension took effect immediately and would remain in force until the sitting concludes on October 21.

Chong was absent during the tabling of the motion because he was in Parliament.

Lee said Chong had persistently used and repeated information and allegations which he had not verified or could not justify when asked by the Speaker to provide supporting evidence or justification.

He said the DAP Sarawak chairman had used offensive and insulting language against members of the House, and had imputed improper motives to other members or made statements or allegations which the said member was not prepared to substantiate.

“Every member of this House has the right to speak, to question, to disagree and to scrutinise the government. These are essential features of parliamentary democracy, and they must be respected.

“Those rights, however, carry responsibilities. Every member must observe the Standing Orders, respect the authority of the Chair, and exercise care in making statements and allegations in this House,” he said.

Lee said the motion refers to a statement made by Chong who uttered “And more importantly if such basic pagination of the document, that can such a serious error, what confidence do we have in the more detailed figures in the document budget?” recorded at page 15 of the unedited Hansard on October 13, which was alleged to have deliberately misled the House.

“It also concerns the Honourable Member’s conduct during the Budget debate on October 14, which we can find in yesterday’s Hansard from page 35 to page 44, particularly, I quote here: “So Tuan Speaker, you have wasted a lot of my time. I know you’re in control of this, please be fair to me.” as stated on page 38, including the reputation of information and allegations whose truth or accuracy he could not justify when called upon by the chair.

“The use of offensive and insulting language about members at page 40 of yesterday’s unedited Hansard, and I quote: “Kota Sentosa is hallucinating. He thought, you know, something criminal is being committed and the imputation of improper motives without substantiation,” he said.

Before putting the motion to a vote following a debate by members of the august House, Asfia said Chong’s speeches on October 13 and 14, as recorded in the Hansard, had flagrantly violated the Standing Orders.

He cited Standing Orders 32(4), 32(6), 32(10)(d) and 32(12), which cover the use of language deemed out of order, imputations of improper motives or unsubstantiated allegations against other members, the use of unverified information, and statements that deliberately mislead the House.

Quoting Standing Order 32(6), Asfia said no member could impute improper motives to another member or make any statement or allegation that he was not prepared to substantiate.

He also referred to Standing Order 32(10)(d), which prohibits members from using information, allegations or comments from any source, including newspapers, online newspapers, social media and other online platforms, if their truthfulness or accuracy could not be verified.

Asfia further cited Standing Order 32(12), which provides that any member who deliberately misleads the House is deemed to be out of order or in contempt.

He also invoked Standing Order 40(10), which states that nothing in the Standing Orders deprives the House of the power to proceed against any member in accordance with a resolution of the House.

During his State Budget debate on October 14, Chong had questioned the RM300 million lease of a pre-owned jet by the state government, alleging a lack of proper procurement procedures and a possible conflict of interest. — The Borneo Post

Man with 33 criminal, drug records arrested over glue tin attack on elderly man in Segamat

MPs demand tougher Asean haze response, call for disaster fund and stricter enforcement

School assessment postponed as haze sparks MOE move to prioritise student health and safety

由于在 2027 年砂拉越预算辩论期间误导议会并提出未经证实的指控，砂拉越州立法议会议员张健仁（民主行动党-巴东岸）已被暂停本届会议的议员资格。

该动议由交通部长拿督斯里李金信提出，以绝对多数票获得通过，其依据是庄文强反复使用未经证实的信息和冒犯性语言。

州议会议长丹斯里拿督阿玛莫哈末阿斯菲亚阿旺纳萨尔列举了庄文强违反的多项议事规则，强调了在议会民主制度下，发言权和监督权所伴随的责任。

古晋，10月16日讯——砂拉越州立法议会议员张健仁（民主行动党-巴东岸选区）因在辩论2027年砂拉越财政预算案时误导议会并提出未经证实的指控，已被停职，直至本届州立法议会会议结束。

交通部长兼森那丁州议员拿督斯里李金新昨天提出暂停张志贤职务的动议，该动议以62票赞成、1票反对、1票弃权获得通过。

州议会议长丹斯里拿督阿玛莫哈末阿斯菲亚阿旺纳萨尔宣布，暂停会议立即生效，并将持续到10月21日会议结束为止。

由于钟某当时正在国会，所以他缺席了动议的提交。

李表示，当议长要求张某提供支持证据或理由时，张某不断使用和重复未经核实或无法证明的信息和指控。

他说，砂拉越民主行动党主席曾对国会议员使用冒犯性和侮辱性语言，并对其他议员进行不正当动机的揣测，或发表无法证实的言论或指控。

“本院每位议员都有权发言、质询、表达异议和监督政府。这些是议会民主的基本特征，必须得到尊重。”

“然而，这些权利也伴随着责任。每位议员都必须遵守议事规则，尊重主席的权威，并在议会中发表声明和提出指控时谨慎行事，”他说。

李表示，该动议指的是庄在10月13日未经编辑的议会记录第15页上发表的言论：“更重要的是，如果如此基本的文件页码都会出现如此严重的错误，我们对预算文件中更详细的数字又有什么信心呢？” 据称，该言论故意误导了议会。

“此外，还涉及这位尊敬的议员在10月14日预算辩论期间的行为，我们可以在昨天的议事录第35页至第44页找到相关内容，特别是，我在此引用他在第38页所说的：“议长先生，您浪费了我很多时间。我知道您掌控着局面，请您公平对待我。” 他还提到，当主席要求他核实某些信息和指控的真实性或准确性时，他无法证明这些信息和指控的可信度。

“昨天未经编辑的议事录第40页使用了冒犯性和侮辱性的语言来称呼议员，我引用一下：‘哥打圣淘沙出现了幻觉。他认为，你知道，有人在进行犯罪活动，并且在没有证据的情况下指责他人动机不正当。’”他说。

在议会成员辩论后，阿斯菲亚将该动议付诸表决。他表示，根据《汉萨德》的记录，钟在 10 月 13 日和 14 日的讲话公然违反了议事规则。

他援引了议事规则第 32(4)、32(6)、32(10)(d) 和 32(12) 条，这些规则涵盖了使用被认为不合规的语言、对其他成员进行不正当动机的指控或未经证实的指控、使用未经核实的信息以及故意误导议会的声明。

阿斯菲亚援引议事规则第 32(6) 条表示，任何成员都不得对其他成员进行不正当的动机指控，也不得发表任何自己无法证实的声明或指控。

他还提到了议事规则第 32(10)(d) 条，该条禁止成员使用来自任何来源（包括报纸、网络报纸、社交媒体和其他网络平台）的信息、指控或评论，如果无法核实其真实性或准确性。

阿斯菲亚还援引了议事规则第 32(12) 条，该条规定任何故意误导议会的议员都被视为违反议事规则或藐视议会。

他还援引了议事规则第 40(10) 条，该条规定议事规则中的任何内容均不剥夺议会根据议会决议对任何议员采取行动的权力。

在10月14日的州预算辩论中，张建宗质疑州政府斥资3亿令吉租赁一架二手飞机，指控其缺乏正当的采购程序，并可能存在利益冲突。——《婆罗洲邮报》

一名有33项犯罪和毒品记录的男子因在昔加末用胶水罐袭击一名老年男子而被捕。该男子在昔加末被捕。

议员们要求东盟加强对雾霾的应对力度，呼吁设立灾害基金并加强执法力度。

雾霾引发学校评估推迟，教育部优先考虑学生健康和安全