Kuching: Padungan Assemblyman Chong Chieng Jen has officially submitted a motion under Standing Order 86 of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUN), seeking to reconsider, review, and overturn the Speaker’s decision to reject a question concerning the expenses incurred by the Premier of Sarawak and Cabinet Ministers on their official overseas trips.
The motion, handed over today by Chong and Pending Assemblywoman Violet Yong Wui Wui, challenges the Speaker’s repeated disallowance of a written question submitted by Pending Assemblywoman Violet Yong, which sought detailed expenditure information on the high-level foreign visits.
Chong highlighted that the Speaker on 21 May 2025
rejected the question on “grounds that it contravenes public policy”.
“On 26 May 2025, in this August House, the Speaker disallowed the question (a second time) based on the Machiavellian Doctrine that the end justifies the means and that given the huge investment from foreign investments, the question be disallowed and leave be given to the Minister’s refusal to answer the question,” he said.
He added that the grounds for the Motion are as follows:
1. The Speaker’s words on 26.5.2025, as recorded in the Hansard in rejecting the question, showed that the Speaker did not appreciate the extent of the expenditure of these official overseas trips when the House was, on 22.5.2025, asked to approve a supplementary supply of additional RM100 million under the Department of the Premier of Sarawak Development for rental air-chartered services.
2. On 23.5.2025, the Deputy Speaker, while chairing the Assembly, said that the reason for rejecting the question was because of security and confidentiality reasons. Such reason given by the Deputy Speaker in the House on 23.5.2025 contradicts the reason given by the Speaker on 26.5.2025 in the House.
3. The decision of the Speaker defies the very fundamental principles of Parliamentary Democracy whereby the Executive’s expenditure must be transparent and accountable to the House.
4. The question as to whether the multi-million expenditure incurred by the YAB Premier and the Cabinet Ministers in their official overseas trip is reasonable and justifiable is a matter for the general public to judge, NOT the Speaker to judge, and the general public has every right to know exactly how much was spent for such overseas trips.
5. The Speaker’s decisions to reject the question interfere with the performance of duty by Members of this Legislative Assembly. It hinders and prevents the Honourable Members from making the Executives accountable to the Legislative Assembly.
6. The Legislative Assembly approved all expenditures of the Executives, and thus, the Legislative Assembly has every right to know how the Executive spent the funds approved by the Assembly.
Chong, who is also the Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak Chairman, is now calling on the Speaker to reverse the decision and direct the relevant Minister to issue a written reply to Violet Yong’s original question.
, seeking to reconsider, review, and overturn the Speaker's decision to reject a question concerning the expenses incurred by the Premier of Sarawak and Cabinet Ministers on their official overseas trips.){kind=link}