‘Polite letter’ fails to spell it out
By Maria J. Dass, The Sun
SHAH ALAM (Nov 24, 2010): There seems to be a lot of confusion over the status of Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Bhd (KDEB) president Datuk Abd Karim Munisar, whose tenure ended in September.
However, till yesterday evening, no one in KDEB or the state government could say for certain if he has left.
This is because the KDEB president has continued to carry out his duties as usual since Sept 6, 2004, having apparently failed to see the writing on the wall.
Apparently, Abd Karim stayed on due to a “miscommunication”.
This anomaly was noticed when Abd Karim turned up for a meeting when he was supposed to have left the company.
The cause of the confusion can be traced to a termination of service letter from the mentri besar’s office which KDEB president misread as a note of appreciation from Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.
This was because the letter had thanked Abd Karim for his services as president, and indicated that he could continue his services as non-executive director in the state investment arm.
Due to this vague wording, Abd Karim did not get the message that his service at KDEB was being terminated.
A second letter sent to KDEB company secretary on Nov 8 was more direct, stating that Selangor government had no intention of renewing his services as KDEB president.
When contacted the MB’s political secretary Faekah Husin confirmed there was indeed a miscommunication.
“When the letter was drafted, we worded it in a way where we acknowledged his contributions by thanking him for his services as president. At the same time (we) told him that his expertise was still valuable to the company – hence his appointment as a member of KDEB board of directors,” she said.
Other than being KDEB president, Abd Karim also holds several other positions in other state companies, namely as non-executive chairman of Kumpulan Harta Selangor Bhd and Kumpulan Perangsang Sdn Bhd.
Faekah said as per Malay and Eastern culture, one cannot tell someone “thank you very much, your services have been terminated, you can leave now”.
“We have our own cultured ways of doing so,” she said.
Faekah said the sentences used in the letter may have been ambiguous to Abd Karim, hence the confusion.
“There was no mala fide involved,” she explained.
Faekah said that several people have been shortlisted to take over as KDEB president.
Abd Karim, when contacted, asked theSun to speak to his secretary who did not confirm what his status was, and if he had relinquished his position in KDEB president.
The secretary referred the matter to KDEB corporate communications manager Necia Abdullah, who did not respond to calls, text messages and e-mail queries on the matter since last week.
No one could confirm if Abd Karim was still drawing his salary.
KDEB, which is under Selangor’s Mentri Besar Incorporated, has investments in infrastructure, utility, property, education, hospitality and recreation sectors.
