OPPOSITION MPs have asked Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun to stop the intimidation of Sepanggar MP Azis Jamman over a speech he made during a parliamentary debate.

Lim Guan Eng (Bagan-PH) raised the issue of double standards and intimidation in the case of Azis, whom police have summoned over his remarks that there were strong sentiments in favour of secession among Sabahans at being unfairly treated by federal government.

“Why is there no action against those who talk about closing vernacular schools or similar action against a government MP for saying the same thing?” Lim said.

“This smacks of double standards against an opposition MP.”

Defending Azis, Lim said that the Warisan lawmaker did not ask Sabah to leave Malaysia.

“He only stated the sentiments of Sabahans. None of the MPs or the speaker here objected to Azis’ speech,” Lim said.

“The police should refer to the speaker before taking action. This is an insult to Parliament and challenges its sovereignty.”

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim (Port Dickson-PH) added that Parliament had its own way of dealing with MPs who made controversial speeches.

“If the MP has stepped out of line, he could be referred to the privileges committee. The police action against Azis is a form of intimidation and sets a dangerous precedent.

“If the speaker sides with the police, it will restrict our freedom to raise issues,” said Anwar.

Noting their concerns, Azhar then asked Azis for his side of the story.

“Clearly, my speech said that these are the complaints in Sabah and Sarawak, and that if we want to save Malaysia, we have to implement the Malaysia Agreement 1963 terms,” Azis replied.

“I only voiced the sentiments. We don’t want to separate from Malaysia.

“But strangely, there was no action against Jeffrey Kitingan (Keningau-PN) when he said the same thing a day earlier. I had only agreed with him,” Azis added.

On this note, Azhar promised to review Aziz’s speech and liaise with the authorities.

“I will look at the hansard and communicate with the authorities on this matter,” Azhar told the Dewan Rakyat.

Yesterday, Azis was summoned to Bukit Aman CID to give a statement on his speech in Parliament on November 9.

Parliamentary privilege provides MPs with legal immunity to discuss matters freely in Parliament but does not apply in cases involving the Sedition Act 1948.

In 1982, Barisan Nasional MP Mark Koding was convicted for questioning the existence of Chinese and Tamil schools and the use of both languages on signboards. – November 24, 2021.