Plot thickens in PKNS sacking saga
by Joceline Tan, The Star
The controversy over the sacking of PKR deputy president Azmin Ali from the board of PKNS or Selangor Development Corporation has taken on shades of a political soap opera with lots of twists and turns.
Mentri Besar and PKNS board chairman Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim who had been instructed by PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to reinstate Azmin as board member insisted that the Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyman is still out.
However, it is learnt that Azmin received a letter dated Jan 16 from PKNS last weekend to say he was back on the board after being sacked on Jan 8.
Sources said the one-paragraph letter stated that PKNS had “received instructions from the state government” to reverse the earlier decision to terminate his service.
To add to the drama, two top PKNS officials who had been dragged into the fray were booted out and put in cold storage.
Khalid confirmed after chairing the board meeting yesterday that general manager Datuk Othman Omar and executive secretary Norita Mohd Sidek have been removed from their posts with immediate effect.
The pair were informed that they had been reassigned to administrative duties in the state secretariat building where the Mentri Besar’s office is.
Khalid said their removal was to allow “investigation” into the sacking of Azmin from the PKNS board.
But the perception is that the two officials are paying the price for contradicting Khalid in his attempt to blame PKNS for Azmin’s predicament.
Khalid had claimed that it was Othman who decided to end Azmin’s term. However, Norita in a statement said the corporation had no power to sack a board member.
She said the decision came from the state executive council.
The Mentri Besar had pushed the buck to PKNS which in turn pushed it back to Khalid, leaving an open question as to where the truth lies.
Khalid was widely reported to be planning to meet the two PKNS officials yesterday to sort out the confusion.
When the PKNS pair called the MB’s office to ask about the meeting, they were told to go in at 12.30pm.
However, sources said they were subsequently told that the meeting was off and that they had been removed from their posts.
It is also learnt that Azmin, having received the letter of reinstatement, had assumed he could attend yesterday’s board meeting. But he was told that he had not been invited.
The quirky chain of events is seen as part of the ongoing power struggle between Khalid and Azmin who is a contender for the post of Mentri Besar.
The rivalry reached a new level with speculation that Khalid may challenge Azmin for the PKR deputy president post in the party elections due in March.
Khalid and Azmin have always been in opposite camps. Their sour relations became very public after the May 5 general election when the PKR Selangor chief openly criticised the Mentri Besar.
