Dewan Rakyat: Wan Saiful apologises, six-month suspension motion withdrawn

The apology was made after Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul gave the Member of Parliament the opportunity to explain before a motion by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was presented to suspend Wan Saiful for six months for accusing Anwar of abusing his power.

Wan Saiful in the apology admitted that the statement made when debating on the Motion of Thanks for the Royal Address in the Dewan Rakyat on February 28 was indeed directed at Anwar.

"I did address that sentence to Tambun (Anwar)... I retract that sentence, I retract my statement and I also apologise for that statement.

"I also humbly apologise because in the motion there was a mention of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and therefore I apologise and withdraw the statement and I hope it is given the due consideration," he said.

Following the apology, Johari considered the issue closed and proposed that Ahmad Zahid who is also Rural and Regional Development Minister to withdraw the motion.

"This means the Honourable Member for Tasek Gelugor has apologised to Tambun and withdrew his statement. The Honourable Member has also sought the forgiveness of His Majesty the King.

"For that, I accepted the (apology) and the minister's withdrawal of motion, thus I considered the matter settled as an apology has been made and hopefully it is aceptable to the minister," he said.

Ahmad Zahid later stood up to withdraw the relevant motion listed in the Order of Business of the Dewan Rakyat Meeting today.

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader and Member of Parliament for Larut Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin stood up to express his appreciation and praised the decision of the Speaker in resolving the issue.

-- BERNAMA