After refusing to sit down following a shouting match with Deputy Federal Territories Minister Datuk J Loga Bala Mohan, DAP lawmaker Tan Kok Wai was ordered to leave the Dewan Rakyat.
Loga Bala had just started his winding-up speech at the committee stage for Budget 2018 debates when he took a swipe at Tan, claiming there were many illegal gambling dens in Cheras using his name.
The Cheras MP took offence and stood up to demand that Loga Bala retract his statement, and challenged him to repeat his allegation outside the Dewan Rakyat.
Loga Bala said that he was responding to a question raised in the Dewan, and the claim he made was not his opinion but “what people were saying outside”.
Tan had earlier used the same excuse when he indirectly alleged that Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, the Federal Territories Minister, was corrupt due to land sales.
The DAP MP had to retract the statement after repeated orders to do so by Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, who said it was unparliamentary to make such accusations as it showed ill intentions.
A few Opposition MPs stood up to say that since Tan had to retract his words earlier, it was only fair for Loga Bala to do the same.
Deputy Speaker Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee ordered the deputy minister to apologise and retract his remark.
However, Loga Bala explained that he was not accusing Tan.
“I am not accusing Cheras. If I’m wrong, I will retract what I said. I just said this is the perception of many,” he said.
Kiandee accepted the explanation, saying he believed the deputy minister had not accused Tan of anything.
This angered Tan, who refused to sit down despite repeated orders to do so by the deputy speaker.
Eventually, Kiandee ordered him to leave the Dewan.