[UPDATED] Speaker nixes DAP lawmaker’s call for debate on fireman Adib’s death

KUALA LUMPUR – R.S.N. Rayer’s (Jelutong-PH) motion to debate the death of firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim has been rejected by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun.

Azhar said Rayer cited the wrong Standing Order when submitting the motion.

“I had to reject the motion because firstly, it doesn’t state why it has to be expedited. Secondly, the motion was done under Standing Order 18(1) of the Dewan Rakyat, which is to discuss a certain matter.

“Unfortunately, YB’s motion is to urge the cabinet to seek the minister to answer the question. If you would like to urge the minister to do so, you will need the House to make a decision. Therefore, Standing Order 18(1) cannot be used to make the decision,” Azhar said when answering Rayer on the matter.

The submission, which was done under Standing Order 18(1) of the Dewan Rakyat, allows a non-executive member of the House to seek leave to discuss a defined matter of urgent public importance.

Elaborating on the right procedure, Azhar advised the DAP lawmaker to raise this matter during ministers’ question time to get an answer from Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin.

“That is the procedure that you will have to follow. I will also bring this matter up (with the minister),” Azhar said.

Earlier today, Rayer said the motion is important to allow lawmakers to debate Adib’s death, which, until today, has not seen any suspects charged in court.

He said this is similar to several cases of custodial deaths, including of Teoh Beng Hock, who was found dead on the fifth floor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam more than 12 years ago, after being probed by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

“The motion (on Adib) is something that I want to relate to the Teoh’s case and the others who died while in detention recently. There has been no conclusion to date,” he said.

The DAP man said he hopes justice will be served against all suspects, in similar fashion to how a 33-year-old businessman, Ahmad Noor Azhar Muhammad, was charged with the murder of a 64-year-old security guard last December.

Adib died on December 17, 2018, after succumbing to injuries suffered while conducting his duty during a riot outside a Seafield temple in November that year.

The Shah Alam coroner’s Court had in September 2019 ruled that Adib’s death was a result of a criminal act by more than two people, and that it was not self-inflicted.

The court also found that the police’s inaction with regard to controlling the riot was also a factor in the firefighter’s death. – The Vibes, September 20, 2021

Additional reporting by Isabelle Leong