KUALA LUMPUR: Machang member of parliament Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal has labelled his six-month suspension from the Dewan Rakyat as another 'black chapter' in Malaysia's parliamentary democracy.
In a Facebook post today, the Bersatu member also claimed he was not given the opportunity to defend himself following the motion filed against him by Minister in Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
"As a result of this suspension, I will have to miss the debate of the 2025 Budget in the October proceeding.
"God willing, my fellow friends (MPs) will continue to fight and voice out the people's interests in this House.
"Machang is forced to take a step back, see you next year," he said.
Earlier, Wan Fayhsal was suspended from the Dewan Rakyat for six months starting today following a poison pen letter alleging the mastermind behind the Malaysia Airport Holdings Bhd (MAHB) privatisation.
Wan Fayhsal is reported to have made a reference to the poison pen letter when debating the annual report of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) for 2021 and 2022 in Dewan Rakyat earlier this month.
He had also named an EPF employee with a high-ranking position for allegedly being involved in MAHB's privatisation and that the individual had used tactics to intimidate other employees.
Meanwhile, Azalina, in her motion cited that the action made by Wan Fayhsal could lead to floodgates for other parliamentarians to use the same tactics of poison pen letters without proper investigations.
She added that it was also the responsibility of a lawmaker to ensure a proper investigation is conducted upon receiving a poison pen letter.
In this situation, she said Wan Fayhsal should have lodged a report to the authorities to allow them to investigate the matter.