A bid to raise a no-confidence motion against Selangor Menteri Besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo by an opposition leader has been rejected by state assembly speaker Onn Ismail.

An irate Sungai Pinang Assemblyman Teng Chang Khim today accused the speaker of abusing his powers.

"After perusing and considering the motion, it is found that the intention was only to speak to the House. Furthermore, the matter raised in the motion is general in nature, not specific and without basis," said Onn in a letter dated April 20 to the DAP leader.

On April 9, Teng had submitted a notice for the motion to be included on the agenda of the State Legislative Assembly meeting on April 25 and 26.

As it was only a notice of the motion to be heard at the meeting, he claimed that there was no requirement for the submission of grounds together with the notice.

"As a motion to be invoked under Standing Order 26(1) and 27(3), there was no need for me to submit my grounds for tabling it. The correct procedure would have been for it to be included in the agenda and tabled at the meeting. Only then would the House decide whether or not to proceed with it.

"However, the speaker rejected my notice by invoking Standing Order 17(7a) which is clearly confined to emergency motions which would call for adjournment of the House in order to proceed. This was clearly not my intention when I submitted the notice," said the DAP leader when contacted.

Under Standing Order 17 (7a), only matters that are defined as "urgent, definite and of public interest" could be tabled.

'Abuse of power'

"It is not in the speaker's power to reject a notice of motion by an assemblyperson. Only the House can decide on proceeding with the hearing or not. I see what the speaker has done as an abuse of power, especially by rejecting the notice under a different Standing Order than that I submitted the notice under," said Teng.

Asked on his reasons for tabling the motion, Teng replied: "There have been many issues that involve the state government led by Khir Toyo, for example the Bukit Cahaya controversy and the building of luxurious residences for state exco members. Also, there have been various accusations of corruption made against Khir."

As the next course of action, he said that a letter of appeal would be submitted to the Sultan of Selangor and Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Mohd Khir, who became menteri besar, in 2001 has been dogged by a series of controversies and allegations of corruption.

There have been numerous reports lodged against him with the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) and many quarters have called on him to resign.

On Wednesday, the Parliament was told that the ACA has started a probe on his alleged wrongdoing in a land matter in Taman Templer.