KUCHING, June 28 ― Kota Sentosa assemblyman Chong Chieng Jen said today the Sarawak Speaker has no power to reject his call for an emergency assembly meeting to deliberate a resolution for the legislative body to appeal Dr Ting Tiong Choon's case.

He said only Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Openg may decide whether to call for the emergency meeting or otherwise.

"All the Speaker Datuk Amar Asfia Awang Nassar has to do is to issue notice of the meeting to all the state assemblymen after receiving representation from the chief minister,” the Sarawak DAP chairman said when responding to Asfia's statement that the state assembly would not convene the meeting to deliberate on any resolution.

Chong said the meeting is for the state Barisan Nasional government to table the resolution to empower the state assembly to appeal against the High Court decision restoring DAP's Dr Ting Tiong Choon's post as the Pujut state assemblyman.

Chong said without the resolution, the state assembly has no power to act on its own in the appeal stage.

Asfia on June 25 said there was no need to convene the meeting to pass any resolution authorising the state assembly to appeal to reverse the High court's decision, after Chong wrote to ask the chief minister to convene the emergency meeting.

On June 17, judge Datuk Douglas Primus Sikayun reinstated Dr Ting after ruling that the state assembly was not a competent forum to disqualify any of its members.

Dr Ting was disqualified on May 12 following the passage of a ministerial motion.