{
  "id": 15722922,
  "title": "No DAP reps in Sarawak assembly as Yong ejected for 1 day",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/no-dap-reps-in-sarawak-assembly-as-yong-ejected-for-1-day",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-20T08:58:47.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/10/20/no-dap-reps-in-sarawak-assembly-as-yong-ejected-for-1-day"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Violet Yong, a pending DAP representative, was ejected from the Sarawak state assembly on Monday for describing Transport Minister Lee Kim Shin as a \"political coward.\" The assembly now lacks any opposition representatives. Yong claimed she would only be barred for a single day and would return for the session's final day, which is scheduled for tomorrow. The Sarawak DAP secretary was asked to vacate the chamber this morning after she refused to retract her statement on Monday regarding Lee. Speaker Asfia Awang Nassar deemed the remark \"unparliamentary\" and \"humiliating,\" and ordered it to be removed from the Hansard following Lee's complaint that Yong had used insulting words against him. Yong persisted in speaking while her microphone was muted, leading the speaker to formally expel her from the assembly. Yong had referred to Lee as a \"political coward\" for criticizing suspended Padungan assemblyman Chong Chieng Jen while Chong was absent from the legislature. Chong, the head of the Sarawak DAP, had been suspended from the state legislature for the remainder of the session.",
  "summary": "The Pending assemblyman says she will return to the Sarawak assembly on Wednesday, the final day of the current sitting.",
  "key_points": [
    "Violet Yong expelled from Sarawak assembly for calling Lee Kim Shin a \"political coward\"",
    "No DAP representatives in Sarawak assembly after Yong's expulsion",
    "Yong claims one-day ban, plans to return for final assembly session"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The expulsion of the sole opposition representative leaves the state legislature without a dissenting voice, effectively centralizing control within the assembly for the remainder of the current session.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}