Azmin Ali confirms exit from PKNS board

(MM) – PKR deputy president Azmin Ali has acknowledged his removal from the board of the Selangor State Economic Development Council (PKNS), which could signal deteriorating ties with Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim.

The Gombak MP was rumoured to have been given the axe yesterday, following talk last year that he would not have his tenure on the board renewed.

“I got the letter yesterday. I will announce the matter in detail later,” he was quoted as saying by Utusan Malaysia on its website today.

He declined to say if his exit from the PKNS board was voluntary or otherwise, saying only that he will no longer serve with the state-owned firm.

Azmin and Khalid are reportedly rivals in PKR, with the former said to be eyeing the latter’s post as mentri besar.

The Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyman is an outspoken critic of the Khalid administration, despite both being members of the same party and larger Pakatan Rakyat coalition.

Most recently, Azmin had lashed out at Khalid for pushing ahead with a two- to three-fold increase to the salaries of lawmakers and administrators in the state, which the PKR number two had described as “too much”.