AN egg-importing company cannot take legal action against Ayer Hitam MP Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong because Members of Parliament (MPs) enjoy legal immunity when addressing the house, said Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Johari Abdul.
In a letter to Wee, Johari said MPs enjoy legal immunity under Article 63 of the Federal Constitution when speaking in the House or to any of its committees.
His statement on the matter came after Wee had 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.
“Any speech made by MPs during parliamentary sittings is protected by the Federal Constitution and no legal proceeding can be initiated by any court against any MP for what was said when participating in any parliamentary proceeding,” Johari said in a letter to Wee.
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.
Wee shared the letter on his Facebook page yesterday and also thanked Johari for providing guidance on the matter.
“Thank you to the speaker for his reply and for protecting the rights of MPs to speak in the Dewan Rakyat,” the Ayer Hitam MP said.
“I will continue to be the voice of the people, not just for my constituents in Ayer Hitam but also the people of Johor and Malaysia.”
On Feb 22, Wee told the Dewan Rakyat that the government should resolve problems faced by local egg producers and not import eggs from India, which he said were more expensive and smaller.
In the Parliamentary session, Wee brought two eggs – one from India, and another local – to prove his point, noting 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.
Putrajaya had turned to the importing of eggs from India as a temporary measure to address local egg shortages. – March 14, 2023
Main pic credit: Bernama
