Veteran parliamentarian Karpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Gelugor) today accused Parliament Speaker Dr Mohamed Zahir Ismail of having a hidden agenda by taking action against him, which could see the former being referred to the Parliament's Privileges Committee to face possible disciplinary action.

"There is a motive behind the speaker's letter. Why did he send the letter to me only two weeks after May 17?" Karpal told a press conference at the Parliament lobby.

"Referring me to the Privileges Committee does not scare me. In fact, the speaker should explain to the House about his conduct too," he added.

Karpal, who is also DAP deputy chairperson, said he would write to the Inter-Parliamentary Union on the matter.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi presented a motion to the House today to refer Karpal to the committee for further action. The motion is expected to be officially tabled next Monday.

Speaker's letter

In his motion, the premier called for the committee to consider and ascertain whether Karpal had made a "false statement and misdirected the House"after the politician cited the wrong Act to protest against parliamentarians for not raising their right hand during the oath-taking ceremony on May 17.

He cited the Statutory Declarations Act instead of the Oath and Affirmations Act, which does not contain any provision requiring parliamentarians to raise their hand when taking oath after Parliament reconvened following the March general election.

Following this, Mohamed Zahir wrote a letter to Karpal last Tuesday to seek his explanation for citing the wrong Act - the Statutory Declarations Act, which requires all persons to raise their hand when taking their oaths.

Mohamed Zahir said the DAP MP "misdirected" the House and told him to reply to his letter or action would be taken against Karpal.

The Bukit Gelugor MP, who had conceded that he made a mistake at a press conference and later in Parliament, argued that the speaker had subsequently overruled his protest when the matter was raised in the House.

Karpal said today that he was surprised that the motion has been tabled under the name of the prime minister.

However, he said that being suspended from the House is "nothing new".

The veteran politician was expelled from Parliament in 1994 for criticising the conduct of the Johor Sultan.He returned to the House in 1996.

Both are involved

Meanwhile, Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang who was also present at the press conference said he would seek to amend the motion in order for the speaker to be referred to the Privileges Committee too.

"We want the speaker to be referred to the Privileges Committee together with Karpal because both are involved in the matter," he said, adding that he was shocked over the motion.

The committee is headed by the speaker but he would have to excuse himself from chairing the committee in this motion. It will by chaired by the deputy chief, Dr Yusof Yacob who is the deputy speaker.

Other committee members are Chor Chee Heung (BN-Alor Setar), Dr James Dawos Mamit (BN-Mambong), Zaid Ibrahim (BN-Kota Bahru), K Devamani (BN-Cameron Highlands) and Chong Eng (DAP-Bukit Mertajam).

The committee has to move a motion to be debated in the House after it has decided on the matter. However, there is no time frame stipulated in the parliamentary standing order when the committee should complete its inquiry.

Also present at the press conference were other DAP leaders and Parti Keadilan Rakyat president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.