OPPOSITION members of parliament staged a walkout yesterday after Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia directed N. Surendran to be ejected from the Dewan Rakyat.
The PKR MP from Padang Serai was ordered out after he insisted on pushing through an emergency motion to debate the alleged demolition of the Sri Munes-warar Kaliyaman temple in Jalan P. Ramlee.
The drama unfolded in the morning session when Surendran submitted the motion to condemn City Hall's actions.
However, Pandikar Amin rejected the motion on technical grounds, explaining that Surendran had submitted the motion under Standing Orders 18(1), where it was supposed to have the word 'discussed'.
"Instead, your motion has the word 'condemn', and you want Parliament to decide on the matter," Pandikar said, adding that he had checked with Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor on the issue and the latter had clarified that the inside of the temple was left untouched, as only the structure around it was torn down.
"Don't drag me into issues with a political agenda as I will be viewed as an irresponsible speaker.
"This is a sensitive issue and I have to base my decision on facts," he said, adding that Surendran should respect his decision.
However, Surendran refused to budge and other Pakatan MPs soon joined in the shouting match. Surendran walked out of Parliament at 11.30am.
Speaking at Parliament lobby later, Surendran questioned Pandikar's conduct, calling him "undemocratic, biased and outrageous".
Read more: Pakatan MP ejected over temple issueSPEAKER SAYS 'NO': Opposition MPs walk out over alleged demolition of Hindu temple - General - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/pakatan-mp-ejected-over-temple-issuespeaker-says-no-opposition-mps-walk-out-over-alleged-demolition-of-hindu-temple-1.399191#ixzz2kUGjevK3
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