KUALA LUMPUR, Dec. 5 -- The government has stepped back from immediately suspending Kota Bharu MP Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan, opting instead to send the case to the Parliamentary Committee of Privileges for an independent review after a heated debate in the Dewan Rakyat.

In a statement today, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said the Cabinet had agreed that the Perikatan Nasional chief whip "be referred to the Committee of Privileges for further examination, in line with the Standing Orders of the Dewan Rakyat".

She said the original motion tabled in Parliament would now be amended to formalise the referral.

"This decision was made after taking into account the ...