Deputy Minister suspended over Dewan outburst
KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk S. Sothinathan has been suspended as Deputy Natural Resources and Environment Minister for three months effective yesterday for breaking ranks with the Government in Parliament.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Sothinathan’s action was not befitting his role as a member of the Barisan Nasional front bench.
“Yes, we made a decision to suspend him for three months. It is with immediate effect, for what he did in Parliament.
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Sothinathan: Relieved of duties for three months. |
This, Abdullah added, “is certainly a breach of party discipline”.
The Prime Minister was speaking to reporters yesterday after delivering a keynote address at the two-day Investors Conference organised by Bank Negara in conjunction with the 30th annual meeting of the Islamic Development Bank’s board of governors.
Asked if this was the first time a minister or a deputy minister had been suspended, he said that it was. “There’s always a first time.”
Abdullah said he had received the King’s consent to suspend Sothinathan.
Sothinathan would however remain an MP (of Teluk Kemang) and resume his duties as deputy minister when the suspension ended, he said.
It is understood that Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Adenan Satem will handle the duties of his deputy during the three-month period.
Adenan who was approached at the Parliament lobby yesterday declined to comment on the suspension.
On Tuesday, during the debate on the motion under Standing Order 18(1) by Lim Kit Siang (DAP – Ipoh Timur) over the de-recognition of Crimea State Medical University in Ukraine, Sothinathan had sought clarification from Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad on why CSMU’s degrees were no longer recognised when they were in 2001.
Sothinathan had also questioned why the Higher Education Ministry had issued “No Objection Letters” to unqualified students, adding that as a party responsible for the welfare of Indians, MIC was duty bound to speak up.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz said Sothinathan “broke ranks with the front bench” when he stood up in the Dewan Rakyat to question Dr Latiff over the CSMU issue.
Following the ruckus, Nazri said he had informed Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who is the Barisan Whip, of the incident.
“I provided the tape and Hansard of the proceedings to Datuk Seri Najib for him to have a look at it so that he can inform the Prime Minister,” he told a press conference at the parliament lobby.
As a result, he said, the decision was made to suspend Sothinathan for three months with all his privileges and responsibilities as Deputy Minister revoked.
“He is now only an MP for his constituency and he will sit with the backbenchers. What happened is unprecedented but he is at fault. That is why action has to be taken against him,” he said, adding that the decision was a prerogative of the Prime Minister.
To a question, Nazri said Sothinathan was not referred to the Parliament’s privileges committee because as an MP, he had not done anything wrong.
“This is solely an administrative issue. He broke ranks. You cannot have your cake and eat it too,” he said.
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