Putrajaya to refer Nurul Izzah to parliament rights and privileges committee over Kiram photo

KUALA LUMPUR - The federal government is expected to table a motion today to refer Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar to Parliament's rights and privileges committee on December 2 over recent photos of her with the daughter of Jamalul Kiram III, the man who ordered the invasion of Lahad Datu in Sabah in 2013.

The motion is listed second on Parliament's order paper today and states that the opposition lawmaker’s decision to be photographed with Jacel Kiram went against the former's oath of office as an MP to be loyal to Malaysia and to preserve, protect and uphold the country's Constitution.

The motion also claimed that Nurul Izzah's actions have insulted Parliament and sullied the good name and prestige of the House.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said in a statement today that Nurul Izzah’s photograph with Jacel was a “blunt gesture of disloyalty to the country”.

“Having seen the current occurring behavioural misconduct of certain MPs, a code of conduct or more accurately, a code of ethical conduct must be a matter of priority as it is to regulate our MPs especially in meeting foreign groups,” she said.

In a statement last week, Nurul Izzah admitted to meeting Jacel on November 9 while in the Philippines, together with Batu MP Chua Tian Chang as part of a PKR delegation to meet various interest groups in the country.

Nurul Izzah has since apologised over the incident, after being criticised for being allegedly insensitive to the families of Malaysian security force members killed in the bloody confrontation with the Sulu invaders in early 2013.

The daughter of jailed former opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also told Malay Mail Online last Monday that the accusations of her fraternising with the “enemy” of the country were “outrageous lies and libellous”, and that she was consulting her lawyers on her next course of action.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar has also weighed in on the issue and said the police will be calling Nurul Izzah soon to find out why she had met with Jacel, whom he called the “country’s enemy”.

Jacel, a senatorial candidate in the Philippines, is reportedly still seeking to assert her family’s centuries-old claim on Sabah.

In February 2013, some 200 gunmen led by Agbimuddin brother of Jamalul raided Kampung Tanduo, near Lahad Datu.

A standoff between the armed Sulu intruders and Malaysian police ensued for weeks after, ending in a bloodbath with 10 security personnel killed.