KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 21 ― The Selangor government will take legal action against ex-aides of former Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim to recover some RM2.6 million in overpaid severance fees, Azmin Ali said yesterday.
Local daily the New Straits Times reported today Khalid’s successor Azmin as saying that the two-week deadline for the eight former staff of state-owned Mentri Besar Incorporated (MBI), including ex-MBI CEO Faekah Husin, to return the money ended Monday.
“We have engaged our lawyers to proceed with the legal proceedings against all of them for their refusal to return the money,” Azmin was quoted saying.
Local daily The Star reported last Thursday that lawyers representing Khalid’s former aides would be demanding more money from the Selangor government, claiming that they were only paid 30 per cent out of their total severance package so far.
MBI’s audit last year had revealed that Khalid acted unilaterally and without the consent of MBI’s board of directors in giving out the severance payments to his former staff.
“The board of directors of MBI not including the MBI chairman, at any time after August 25, 2014 had never given any final agreement for the implementation of payments to be made to the eight officers and staff members as decided by the MBI chairman on September 22, 2014,” said the audit report.
It also stated that the board of directors were never consulted or given an opportunity to decide on the said severance payments and that they had only agreed to the voluntary separation scheme (VSS), which was not, by any means, a blank approval.
Khalid, who was sacked from PKR during the tussle over the Selangor MB post, has since claimed ignorance over allegations that his former aides were issued the severance payments after he stepped down from office.
