SARAWAK DAP will mount a court challenge against Padungan assemblyman Wong King Wei’s referral to the state assembly’s Committee of Privileges over his alleged abuse of Speaker Mohd Asfia Awang Nasser during a November sitting of the legislature.

State party chairman Chong Chieng Jen said DAP will file the judicial review “in a week or two”.

Under the law, the party has 40 days – from February 18, the date Wong appeared before the committee – to file the review.

The resolution to file the judicial review was taken the party’s state committee meeting in Kuching this afternoon.

“We are of the view the privileges committee had sat unlawfully, which will nullify the whole proceedings,” Chong told reporters today.

Chong, who is also the deputy domestic trade and consumer affairs minister, said the speaker had acted not only outside his powers when referring Wong to the committee, but also unfairly.

The Padungan assemblyman was referred to the privileges committee over “offensive, acrimonious and vitriolic” remarks against the legislature, the executive and speaker.

Deputy Speaker Gerawat Gala, who chaired the hearing against Wong on February 18, said the remarks made in his debate were an abuse of his privilege as a member.

“His referral to the Committee of Privileges is consistent with Westminster Parliamentary and Standing Order 89 and under Erskine May’s ‘Parliamentary Practice’ 24th edition,” Gala had said fater the hearing.

“The decision is consistent with Jeyaretnam’s case in Singapore, when he was referred to the Committee of Privileges for his remark against Parliament and the prime minister,” Gala said in reference to the former leader of Singapore’s Workers’ Party Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam, or J. B. Jeyaretnam as he’s more commonly known.

The recommendations of the committee will be tabled in the next assembly sitting – expected in May.

Wong, had in his November debate on the 2019 state budget, made a raft of proposals to reform the 150 year-old assembly.

He implied Asifia was being unfair and impartial as a speaker when he took away assemblymen’s right to speak and not be restricted.

That, Wong said, was “undemocratic and infringing the democratic spirit (of the assembly)”. – March 3, 2019.