Opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva is petitioning the Administrative Court and the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) to intervene against a fresh order aimed at retroactively removing him as an instructor at an army cadet school.

Abhisit: Fighting to keep his military rank

Defence Minister Sukumpol Suwanatat signed an order retroactively nullifying Mr Abhisit's appointment as a lecturer of the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy (CRMA) 25 years ago.

The backdated order effectively eliminated his status as a Defence Ministry official.

The move followed last month's order by the ministry to strip Mr Abhisit of his acting sub-lieutenant rank for draft dodging.

Mr Abhisit contested the rank stripping order in the Administrative Court which has accepted the case for hearing.

On Wednesday, ACM Sukumpol signed the instructor appointment revocation order against Mr Abhisit, who vowed to take ACM Sukumpol's latest order to the court as well.

The Democrat Party leader also said he will take the defence minister's order to the NACC.

He said the minister was acting with ulterior motives and that the order represented a form of malpractice.

Niphit Intharasombat, the Democrat Party MP for Phatthalung, said Wednesday's move was an "extension" of the rank stripping order.

He said if the court throws out the rank stripping order, it would mean Mr Abhisit could keep his Defence Ministry status, which would automatically invalidate Wednesday's order.

Sirichoke Sopha, the Democrat MP for Songkhla and a close aide to Mr Abhisit, said the most recent order was an attempt to bully Mr Abhisit politically.

ACM Sukumpol yesterday said he would leave it up to the CRMA to proceed with the instructor post removal against Mr Abhisit.

He said a military rank is royally bestowed and that the official stripping of it will require royal endorsement.

ACM Sukumpol stressed that Mr Abhisit had been "dismissed" from the military for committing a serious breach of discipline by using falsified documents to apply for the teaching job at the CRMA.

The Administrative Court did not have the jurisdiction to accept for consideration a case concerning military law, he said.

Also yesterday, former senator Ruangkrai Leekijwattana asked the EC to consider whether Mr Abhisit has lost his qualification to be an MP in light of the order to strip him of his instructor post.

Mr Ruangkrai, who had earlier asked the EC to probe Mr Abhisit's qualifications, petitioned the EC to send a letter to the House speaker to have him ask the Constitutional Court to make a final ruling on Mr Abhisit's MP status.

Mr Abhisit, having been dismissed from military service, is no longer qualified to be an MP, the ex-senator said.