Felda director-general suspended after dispute with chairman

Felda chairman Tan Sri Isa Samad has now had a falling out with a second Felda director-general since taking over the helm of the federal agency. – The Malaysian Insider pic, December 13, 2014.Felda director-general Datuk Faizoull Ahmad has been suspended for two months by chairman Tan Sri Isa Samad, the National Association of Settlers (Anak) revealed.

Anak president Mazlan Aliman said all is not well between Isa and Faizoull, alleging that a dispute has been going on between the two for the past few weeks.

"I can confirm he has been suspended. There was some issue between the both of them. Isa was not happy with Faizoull's actions of late.

"It has something to do with staff appointments which were not decided by the Felda board of directors and the Public Services Department," Mazlan told The Malaysian Insider in Kuala Lumpur.

"That is only one of the reasons. There are other reasons as well," he said.

Mazlan said Faizoull is the second director-general to be suspended by Isa as previously Datuk Dzulkifli Abd Wahab was transferred to the Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Ministry, and was later posted to Rome, Italy.

"Before this, I wrote what happened on Facebook and waited for the matter to explode. And it has today.

"During his term as Felda chairman, two director-generals have become victims. Dzulkifli was eventually kicked to Rome and now, Faizoull has been suspended," he said.

When asked about other reasons why Faizoull was suspended, Mazlan said he would call for a press conference soon.

The Malaysian Insider understands that Faizoull's duties have been taken over by deputy director-general of services and corporate, Hanapi Suhada.

On Tuesday, Felda filed a lawsuit against PKR Youth chief Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad for linking Faizoull with a man wanted by Interpol in a Facebook status message that was posted on September 11.

Lawyers Hafarizam Wan and Aisha Mubarak, who are representing Felda, have demanded that the Seri Setia assemblyman pay a sum of RM10 million as damages and also apologise within seven days for making a "baseless and untrue" statement.

“The allegations are so serious that could cause our client to be held in contempt by the public and society at large. The damage to his reputation could last for years," the lawyers said in a letter.

However, the Selangor exco responded in a letter through his lawyers saying that he would not apologise and would stand by what he said.

"Our client (Nik Nazmi) as an assemblyman and PKR Youth chief is bound by duty to raise issues that are of public interest.

"We have been ordered to state that our client is depending on the defence of justification and fair comment," his lawyer Latheefa Koya said in the letter, adding that they rejected the demands made by Felda.

- TMI