Faekah issue an ‘internal party matter’, says Wan Azizah

Allegations that Selangor Menteri Besar's political secretary Faekah Husin had abused her powers have been resolved.

PETALING JAYA: PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said the alleged abuse of power involving Selangor Menteri Besar’s political secretary Faekah Husin has been resolved.

“It was an internal party issue. Besides, Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim had already explained the matter,” Wan Azizah told a press conference at the party headquarters today.

On June 21, Malay daily Utusan Malaysia reportedly alleged that Faekah had misused her position to appoint law firm, Sidrek Zeenat Asyiqin & Associates, as the legal team for Permodalan Negeri Selangor Bhd (PNSB).

Faekah’s niece is alleged to be a partner in the law firm, and Faekah was accused of using the Menteri Besar’s office letterhead dated Aug 10, 2011, to ensure the legal firm’s appointment.

Faekah admitted signing the letters but denied allegations that she abused her powers.

“I signed the letter but I didn’t compel them to give projects to the legal firm. I had also stated in the letter that the GLCs should allow new legal firms to be appointed as long as it did not go against the company rules,” Faekah had reportedly said.

Wan Azizah said that it was better for people to focus on bigger scandals plaguing the country, such as the Scorpene submarine purchase and the Ampang LRT extension project which was alleged to have been awarded to an unqualified company.

As to whether the Faekah scandal would compromise Pakatan’s chances of winning Selangor again, Wan Azizah said: “I don’t think this will affect our chances in the general election.”

Soaring crime rate

On another matter, the former Permatang Pauh MP said the Home Ministry and the police should not downplay the rising crime rate in the country by relying on statistics alone.

She also challenged Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu)’s statistics that claimed 70.5% of Malaysians were satisfied with the police’s performance in combating crime.

“I wonder which Malaysians Pemandu is referring to. The average people share our opinion that crime is on the rise and the police are failing the public security test,” said Wan Azizah.

On June 10, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein reportedly said that the fear of rising crime rate in Malaysia was a matter of perception and stressed the numbers were on a downtrend.

“Tell me in which country there is no crime?” Hishammuddin reportedly asked.

Wan Azizah called upon Hishammuddin and the police to assure the public that they would solve all crimes without any prejudice.

She also said that the government should not point fingers at the media or activists for their reports on soaring crime rate.

She said the government should instead use available resources to reduce crime rate in the country.

“Accept public criticism with an open heart. A crime is a crime, one or many it needs proper response from the authorities,” said Wan Azizah.