Jelutong MP ejected from Parliament, suspended for a day

KUALA LUMPUR: A lawmaker was ejected and suspended from the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (March 2) for constantly interrupting proceedings while Datuk Seri Najib Razak (BN-Pekan) was debating.

Datuk Ramli Mohd Noor (BN-Cameron Highlands), who was invited to chair the proceedings, ordered the sergeant-at-arms to escort RSN Rayer (pic) (PH-Jelutong) out of the House after being repeatedly warned not to interrupt Najib during his debate.

Earlier, Ramli had warned Rayer twice not to interrupt Najib.

"You (Rayer) have wasted a lot of time and I am resorting to the rules (to eject and suspend).

"Please escort Jelutong out of the House," Ramli said in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (March 2).

Rayer insisted on knowing how long he would be barred from re-entering the House.

"It is two days if I do not specify the time frame. I am suspending you for a day," Ramli replied.

Rayer kept interrupting Najib during his debate, accusing the former premier of misleading the House by blaming Pakatan Harapan and Perikatan Nasional for the rise in the nation's debt.

Several other Opposition MPs had also interrupted Najib with taunts and jibes.

Earlier, during his debate, Najib told the House that the nation's debt rose by RM320mil during the Pakatan and Perikatan administrations.

"The debt was reduced eight years in a row under Barisan Nasional but it drastically rose by 46% or RM320mil from RM687bil in 2017 to RM1.03 trillion today," Najib said.

Najib also said that the nation's assets and reserves had dwindled since 2018.

He accused Pakatan and Perikatan of "digging" into the national retirement funds including assets and reserves belonging to government-owned entities such as Petronas and Khazanah Nasional Bhd.

Najib also accused both Pakatan and Perikatan administrations of not repaying the RM320bil 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) debt since 2018.

He clarified that repayment of 1MDB's debt did not involve the use of the rakyat's money.

This caused an uproar in the House with several Opposition MPs reminding Najib of his conviction and the recent revelations by former chief of Goldman Sachs’ South-East Asia operations Tim Leissner in a corruption trial in the US.