JOHOR BARU – Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Johari Abdul reminded in a letter that MPs enjoy legal immunity for anything said in Parliament.
Johari’s statements come after Ayer Hitam MP Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong sought guidance from the speaker after receiving two letters of demand from an egg-importing company.
It is understood that the letters of demand were sent to Wee by J&E Advance Tech Sdn Bhd after he claimed that it takes four to five weeks to import eggs via sea passage and that eggs from India were of lower quality.
“As you are aware, under Article 63 of the federal constitution, it affords protection to MPs for what was said in any parliamentary session,” Johari said in a letter to Wee.
“Thus, any speeches made by MPs in a parliamentary session are protected from any court proceedings, subject to Article 63 mentioned earlier.”
The MCA president had informed the speaker of the two letters of demand sent by law firm S. Ravichandran & Anuar Advocates and Solicitors, representing J&E Advance Tech.
In Wee’s letter to Johari, he said the legal notices made reference to the Ayer Hitam MP’s speech while debating the royal address on February 22 and 28.
“As a representative of the people, it is my duty to fight for their interests.
“Thus with regard to the egg shortage, it has been reported by many media companies since December 2022.
“Throughout my speech, I did not mention the company’s name and I merely urged the government to reconsider its policy on importing eggs,” Wee said in the letter dated March 6.
On February 28, Wee told the Dewan Rakyat that a legal letter sent to him claimed that his comments had led to the companies from India suffering losses.
When asked by Putrajaya MP Datuk Radzi Jidin whether he could list several companies that imported eggs into Malaysia, Wee said he did not mention any as he was unsure himself.
He quipped that despite not mentioning any firms, he still “got sued”.
Previously, Wee said relying on imports from India was not the solution for the egg shortage while debating the royal address on February 15.
In another session on February 22, Wee brought two eggs – one from India, and another local – to prove his point.
He said that the egg from India was smaller, despite being priced at 50 sen, while the larger local egg was better priced, ranging between 43 and 45 sen. – The Vibes, March 14, 2023
