themalaysianinsider.com
By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani
SHAH ALAM, July 13 — Selangor Speaker Teng Chang Khim said today that Datuk Seri Mohd Khir Toyo had failed as the opposition leader and needed psychiatric help as he stepped up his attacks against his chief rival after he ejected the former mentri besar from the state assembly this morning.
Teng, from the DAP, told reporters that Khir was probably still recovering from the losses Barisan Nasional (BN) suffered in the last general election in suggesting that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) was obsessed with taking revenge against him.
The speaker said he did not have time for revenge and had been fair to all lawmakers regardless of their party affiliation.
Khir was ordered out of the Selangor state assembly after refusing to retract his claims that Teng was biased.
Teng had earlier ticked off the former mentri besar for delivering a summons to Sekinchan assemblyman Ng Suee Lim in the state assembly last week, which Teng said was contempt of the House.
Khir is suing Ng for alleging that his palatial mansion is worth RM24 million, a claim which Khir has denied.
Teng today ruled that lawyers were not allowed to serve legal notices in the assembly and this was the convention in the Commonwealth and also the practice in Parliament.
He said the move was contempt of the House but had initially only warned Khir and other state lawmakers not to repeat the mistake.
However Khir argued that the summons was sent to Ng at the House dining area and that the restriction was only at the actual state assembly hall and not the grounds of the assembly.
The Sungai Panjang lawmaker then referred to the House Standing Orders, but Teng repeatedly asked him to specify which standing rule he was referring to.
Although Khir was seen vigorously flipping though the rule book he could not substantiate his argument but still insisted he was right before accusing Teng of being bias.
"He has bad intentions. I gave him the opportunity to retract the word bias or go out from the assembly but he was hard-headed and did not want to admit his mistake.
“As a speaker or a judge, anyone will take offence if he is accused of being bias. I could have been accused that my interpretation was wrong or my interpretation is not according to convention, that I can accept, but he cannot accuse me of being bias," he said.
Teng also told reporters that Khir would be automatically suspended for one day.
The speaker said he believed Khir was trying deflect attention from the controversy over his palatial mansion in Shah Alam which was claimed by Ng to be worth RM24 million. However, Khir has denied the accusation and said that the mansion only cost RM3.5 million.
"He is trying to paint this picture that he is being victimised to justify his case tomorrow or today," he said.
The opposition leader is facing suspension for failing to attend a public inquiry into the expenditure of the Wives of Selangor Elected Representative Welfare Organisation (Balkis) in March.
The motion to suspend him was recommended by the House Privileges Committee and is likely to be debated today or tomorrow.
Khir faces a year’s suspension while four other (BN) assemblymen face six months for contempt for criticising the Special Select Committee for Competency, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat), which carried out the public inquiry, in the press.
By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani
SHAH ALAM, July 13 — Selangor Speaker Teng Chang Khim said today that Datuk Seri Mohd Khir Toyo had failed as the opposition leader and needed psychiatric help as he stepped up his attacks against his chief rival after he ejected the former mentri besar from the state assembly this morning.Teng, from the DAP, told reporters that Khir was probably still recovering from the losses Barisan Nasional (BN) suffered in the last general election in suggesting that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) was obsessed with taking revenge against him.
The speaker said he did not have time for revenge and had been fair to all lawmakers regardless of their party affiliation.
Khir was ordered out of the Selangor state assembly after refusing to retract his claims that Teng was biased.
Teng had earlier ticked off the former mentri besar for delivering a summons to Sekinchan assemblyman Ng Suee Lim in the state assembly last week, which Teng said was contempt of the House.
Khir is suing Ng for alleging that his palatial mansion is worth RM24 million, a claim which Khir has denied.
Teng today ruled that lawyers were not allowed to serve legal notices in the assembly and this was the convention in the Commonwealth and also the practice in Parliament.
He said the move was contempt of the House but had initially only warned Khir and other state lawmakers not to repeat the mistake.
However Khir argued that the summons was sent to Ng at the House dining area and that the restriction was only at the actual state assembly hall and not the grounds of the assembly.
The Sungai Panjang lawmaker then referred to the House Standing Orders, but Teng repeatedly asked him to specify which standing rule he was referring to.
Although Khir was seen vigorously flipping though the rule book he could not substantiate his argument but still insisted he was right before accusing Teng of being bias.
"He has bad intentions. I gave him the opportunity to retract the word bias or go out from the assembly but he was hard-headed and did not want to admit his mistake.
“As a speaker or a judge, anyone will take offence if he is accused of being bias. I could have been accused that my interpretation was wrong or my interpretation is not according to convention, that I can accept, but he cannot accuse me of being bias," he said.
Teng also told reporters that Khir would be automatically suspended for one day.
The speaker said he believed Khir was trying deflect attention from the controversy over his palatial mansion in Shah Alam which was claimed by Ng to be worth RM24 million. However, Khir has denied the accusation and said that the mansion only cost RM3.5 million.
"He is trying to paint this picture that he is being victimised to justify his case tomorrow or today," he said.
The opposition leader is facing suspension for failing to attend a public inquiry into the expenditure of the Wives of Selangor Elected Representative Welfare Organisation (Balkis) in March.
The motion to suspend him was recommended by the House Privileges Committee and is likely to be debated today or tomorrow.
Khir faces a year’s suspension while four other (BN) assemblymen face six months for contempt for criticising the Special Select Committee for Competency, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat), which carried out the public inquiry, in the press.
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