Sungai Pinang assemblyperson Teng Chang Khim said the Committee of Privileges set up by the Selangor assembly to investigate him for contempt has fumbled over technicalities in its haste to find him guilty.

Teng, who received a five-day suspension during the last sitting, is in the process of serving it out during the current sitting which began yesterday.

However, in view of his refusal to tender an apology - as required by the committee - the suspension has been extended to six months. And should he maintain his stance, the period will be stretched to a year.

At a press conference held at the DAP Klang office today, Teng criticised the penalty as "multiple jeopardy", saying it was against the basic principle of law.

He clarified that his purported offence - throwing a copy of the Standing Order into a waste bin - was a symbolic protest against the speaker's dismissal of his submission of an ordinary motion to debate a number of issues linked to "administrative malpractice".

Teng further questioned the decision to refer him to the Committee of Privileges, saying that the motion had not been seconded in the House despite the secretary Bakhtiar Hussin's assertion that this had been done.

"The motion on April 26 and Hansard of the day's proceedings were sent to me but neither mentioned a seconder, as required under House rules," he said.

"His evidence is only hearsay because there are no audio or video recordings or Hansard evidence to support it."

Submission to sultan

Teng also said he had sent in a written preliminary objection, but that the committee did not reply to this.

Instead, it proceeded to deliberate the charge over the span of three meetings "without even a witness being called ... or taking any evidence".

"Besides there were many defects and irregularities in the proceedings as evident from the committee's report," he said.

"The committee met on June 24, July 7 and July 26 and produced a report dated July 26. However, the minutes of the first meeting were only prepared and signed by Bakhtiar on July 27," Teng said.

"The most shocking part is that the committee had meted out the penalty at its July 7 meeting and subsequently the third meeting was called to increase the penalty on July 26. But the final proposal on the penalty was already signed by all the committee members on July 7."

When asked about his next course of action, he said that he finds no reason to apologise as instructed and that he intends to present his case to the Sultan of Selangor.

"Since the committee has said it will inform (the sultan), I will also present my case to him so that he will have a balanced view. I believe that, being a fair ruler, he will listen to both sides before he has a view on the matter."

Teng alleged that "numerous breaches of rules, procedures and defects have pointed to one and only one conclusion - that it was a Barisan Nasional (BN) conspiracy to mount a political assassination against me to shut the opposition out of the state assembly".

"It is most shameful for the BN to make the state legislature the laughing stock of the world. It is the ugliest episode in the history of the Selangor assembly."