Speaker: Egg importer can't sue Wee Ka Siong

Speaker: Egg importer can't sue Wee Ka Siong


A firm that imports eggs cannot take legal action against Ayer Hitam MP Wee Ka Siong because Members of Parliament enjoy legal immunity when addressing the House, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Johari Abdul said.

In his letter to Wee, Johari (above) said MPs enjoy legal immunity under Article 63 of the Federal Constitution when speaking in the House or to any of its committees.

"Any speech 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 wrote in his letter.

Wee shared the letter on his Facebook page yesterday. He 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.

"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," Wee said.

Johari had responded to Wee's letter dated March 6, in which Wee sought the speaker's advice on a letter of demand he received from J&E Tech Sdn Bhd.

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.

Putrajaya turned to the importing of eggs from India as a temporary measure to address local shortages.