Kuching: ADUN for Padungan Chong Chieng Jen today tabled a motion in the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUNS) seeking to overturn a Deputy Speaker’s Ruling that expunged parts of his earlier debate from the official Hansard.
The motion, submitted under Standing Order 23(2)(p), concerns remarks made by Chong during his debate on the Motion of Thanks to the Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak’s address on 14 May 2026.
Chong said he had referred to Yeo Lip Hong, also known as Oscar Yeo, who is among 21 individuals arrested and charged in Court for alleged involvement in gangsterism and organised criminal activities.
He had also mentioned what he described as Yeo’s close association with leaders of the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP).
According to Chong, the Deputy Speaker, who was presiding over the sitting, ruled that all references to SUPP, its leaders, and the names mentioned in the speech (appearing on pages 56 to 60) be expunged from the Hansard.
In his motion, Chong argued that the Ruling was “an affront to the very cornerstone and spirit of parliamentary democracy”. He undermined the principle of free speech for elected representatives because:
(1) The fact that this Yeo Lip Hong/Oscar Yeo has been charged in Court for involvement in an organised criminal group under Section 130V(1) of the Penal Code was widely reported.
(2) On 15.5.2026, when he and his gang were brought to Court for further remand, it was carried out under the highest police security with many of the police officers wearing bullet-proof vests and carrying semi-auto machine guns. The whole process was recorded and shown in video clips by many mainstream media outlets, and it was widely reported nationwide.
(3) It is most absurd that when media across the nation are reporting the matter, the discussion of such a matter that has caused wide public concerns was forbidden by the Deputy Speaker and disallowed from being recorded in the Hansard.
(4) The fact that this Yeo Lip Hong, together with 20 others, are brought to Court in such manner and that they are now under detention pursuant to the Security Offenses (Special Measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA) speaks volumes that they are dangerous characters.
(5) The close association of SUPP with this Yeo Lip Hong has also been widely reported in local media and social media. The SUPP President was reported in the news appearing with Yeo Lip Hong in school, with the latter portrayed as a philanthropist to the primary school students and their parents. On another occasion, this Yeo Lip Hong was also photographed sitting next to the Honourable Member for Batu Kitang in the swearing-in ceremony of the SUPP Batu Kitang Branch committee.
(6) The public displays of the close association between political leaders and those involved in organised criminal groups are against public interest and most undesirable. It sends a wrong message to the public that this person and his gang of 24 have the support and endorsement of the State government, given that SUPP is the ruling political party in Sarawak.
(7) The Deputy Speaker said Ruling to expunge my debate in relation to the matter also gives the impression that this August House is condoning and endorsing such illegal activity by attempting to cover up the matter and forbidding the discussion thereof in this August House.
(8) By forbidding even the mention of the names of the individuals involved in the gang, the said Deputy Speaker’s said Ruling and this August House are not doing justice to the good effort of the officers of Police DiRaja Malaysia who have taken great effort to carry out the arrest, to investigate the gang and to hold these persons under SOSMA pending prosecution in Court.
The motion calls on the August House to reverse the Deputy Speaker’s Ruling and reinstate the expunged portions of Chong’s speech into the Hansard.
