Ramkarpal ejected from Dewan Rakyat

KUALA LUMPUR: KUALA LUMPUR: Ramkarpal Singh has earned the inglorious honour of being the first lawmaker to be ejected from the Dewan Rakyat in the inaugural meeting of the 14th Parliament.

The Bukit Gelugor MP was sent out of the House by Speaker Datuk Mohd Ariff Md Yusof on Wednesday (July 18) after he refused to retract an earlier remark describing a group of Umno Youth members as "gangsters".

"I'm sorry I cannot do that (apologise)," Ramkarpal said.

When met at the lobby later, Ramkarpal told the media that he refused to retract his statement as a matter of principle.

"As far as I am concerned, it is a matter of principle. The Deputy Speaker earlier in the day had made a ruling and the Standing Orders are clear.

"If a ruling has been made and if an MP is unhappy with the ruling, they can file a motion under Standing Order 99 against the Speaker's decision," he said adding he was disappointed with the Speaker for making a ruling on top of another ruling.

Back in Feb 26, 2009, a group of 22 men claiming to be Selangor Umno Youth members confronted the late wheelchair-bound Karpal Singh outside the Parliament tower block.

They were demanding that he retract the use of the word "celaka" which he had used in reference to Umno Youth during a debate speech the day before.