BN Sri Serdang rep Satim Diman was referred to the committee of rights and privileges today for accusing Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim for being ‘incompetent' in managing the state's finances.

NONE The decision to refer Satim ( right ) to the powerful committee was made after both sides debated for 20 minutes on an emergency motion pushed by the menteri besar himself.

The saga had started early last week when Satim accused Abdul Khalid of being ‘incompetent' in managing state funds because of a case against him by Bank Islam.

Abdul Khalid said the accusation was false as the court had allowed him to counter-sue the bank.

According to him, Satim had failed to reveal this during his speech.

He then demanded an apology from Satim, who was a deputy speaker in the previous legislative assembly under the Barisan Nasional.

khalid ibrahim pc 120809 01 "Invoking Section 70 of the Standing Orders, I'm demanding an apology from Satim, and to refer him to the rights and privileges committee," said Abdul Khalid.

However, since last Friday (when Abdul Khalid sought the apology) until today, the BN legislator has yet to apologise and has failed to show up at the state assembly.

Last Thursday, Satim, in his policy Budget 2010 debate, told the state assembly that the people were ‘suspicious' of Abdul Khalid.

This was because Abdul Khalid "failed" to pay a RM66 million loan he took from Bank Islam in 1998 to buy shares in Guthrie Group Berhad.

"This was for an optional purchase of RM200 million shares or 20 percent from Guthrie. It's proof of his incompetency to handle even his own personal finances," Satim had said.

‘ This is a threat'

Abdul Shukur Idrus (BN-Kuang) described the recommendation by the menteri besar to refer Satim to the committee of rights and privileges as a "threat".

"To me, Sri Serdang should never apologise over what he said...he just wanted to know whether the menteri besar has the credibility to manage the state's finances.

"The menteri besar has said he would be willing to pay off the loan if he was asked to do so. But where would he get all the money from?" asked Abdul Shukur.

"I'm demanding that he tell the public as to how he is going to pay off the loans because he has been promoting transparency and accountability in his administration."

NONE Lau Weng San (DAP-Kampung Tunku) (right) came to Abdul Khalid's defence, saying the matter had taken place prior to Abdul Khalid becoming the menteri besar.

"BN tends to bring disagreements to the state assembly. They should know that this matter is still in court and should not be questioned here," said Lau.

The motion was seconded by M Manoharan (DAP-Kota Alam Shah) who advised the menteri besar to take police action against Satim.

"What he said in his speech is contemptuous (of the court). I hope the menteri besar instructs his lawyers to lodge a police report against Satim for subjudice," said Manoharan.

After hearing arguments from both sides, and after a voice vote, the Speaker decided to refer Satim to the committee to "investigate the authenticity of Satim's statements."