KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 — Zakaria Abdul Hamid should have attended yesterday’s PKR central leadership council meeting if he wanted a chance to defend himself before his expulsion, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said today.
The party’s advisory council chairman said the recently sacked PKR man would have known the details behind his removal then.
“This should have been the case, if he was at the meeting then all his questions would have been answered,” said Dr Wan Azizah, who is also deputy prime minister and Women, Family and Community Development minister, after officiating the Malaysian Family Declaration at the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre here.
Yesterday, Zakaria in a statement expressed shock at finding out that he has been sacked from PKR, mere hours after it was announced by disciplinary board chairman Datuk Ahmad Kassim in the evening.
The former political secretary to Works Minister Baru Bian was accused in September last year of abusing his position as a civil servant by making promises to offer contracts and allocations to local leaders in Pahang.
The report was filed by PKR Youth coordinator Ahmad Syukri Che Ab Razab on September 25, 2018, which claimed Zakaria promised to give contracts worth RM20,000 and allocations amounting to at least RM300,000, which was made during a meeting with local leaders on September 1 in Pahang.
Zakaria was one of two PKR members removed from the party on grounds of corruption and bribery, the other being Pahang member ordinary Ismail Dul Hadi.
However, the sackings were denounced by party vice-president Zuraida Kamaruddin, who described it as selective and called for similar action to be taken against other PKR leaders who have allegedly broken the law.
In response, PKR communications director Fahmi Fadzil said Zuraida would have understood the necessity of sacking Zakaria and Ismail if she had attended the party’s meetings.
Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim also urged the PKR disciplinary board to provide a fair trial for Zakaria and other members who were sacked in order for them to defend themselves from the allegations.
