A SENIOR Sarawak minister has called on the state assembly to suspend the payment of allowances for reps “adamant” about flouting House rules.

State Finance Minister II Wong Soon Koh said it is not enough to have assemblymen temporarily suspended, and that the assembly “should go for where it hurts – their pockets”.

“A heavier penalty will act as a deterrent to the recalcitrant behaviour of some opposition members,” said the Bawang Assan rep and Parti Sarawak Bersatu president.

“Perhaps, this way, can we uphold proper conduct and good parliamentary practices.”

Soon Koh’s comments are aimed at Kota Sentosa assemblyman and state opposition leader Chong Chieng Jen, whom he has accused of continuing to “harp on the state government’s contributions to approved agencies’ trust funds” while a defamation suit, brought by the state government against the DAP leader, is pending before the courts.

In 2013, Chong was sued by the administration of former chief minister Abdul Taib Mahmud and the state financial authority over a claim he made the previous year on an RM11 billion “black hole” in Sarawak’s budget.

In 2017, he alleged that RM2.04 billion was unaccounted for in the state budget under Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg’s watch.

Chong accused the state government of operating a RM2 billion slush fund.

This was followed by the distribution of a flyer, titled “Budget Black Hole – Where Did the RM11 Billion Go?”, by DAP during the 2013 general election.

“If you go through the Hansard over the past few years, you’ll find many incidents involving opposition members, particularly the member for Kota Sentosa… and so many offences under the Standing Orders and the Privileges and Powers Ordinance 2007,” said Soon Koh.

“We all know that the state government and state financial authority have instituted legal action over defamation against Kota Sentosa.

“He should wait for the trial… to substantiate his defence. In the meantime, Kota Sentosa should respect the fact that the matter is sub judice. He should wait for his day in court, which will ultimately decide if he can substantiate his allegation.”

On Tuesday, Padungan rep Wong King Wei, of DAP, was handed a one-year suspension from the state assembly over “offensive, acrimonious and vitriolic” remarks he made against Speaker Mohd Asfia Awang Nasser during last November’s sitting.

The committee of privileges, which met on February 18 to hear the complaint against King Wei, found him guilty of breaching his parliamentary privileges. – May 8, 2019.