PKR slams Salehuddin for suggesting it forged Jenapala's sack letter

Saifuddin Nasution

Malaysia Chronicle

PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution slammed his predecessor Salehuddin Hashim for suggesting that the party had forged a letter sacking former deputy secretary-general P Jenapala.

Saifuddin clarified that Jenapala was sacked when he was found to be a bankrupt and was involved in setting up a new political party.

"And this sacking letter was pulled out from old files in a letter signed by (the then secretary-general) Salehuddin Hashim who resigned in January 2010 and I took over in February," said Saifuddin.

Saifuddin was referring to a police report lodged recently by Salehuddin alleging his signature had been forged on the February 2, 2009 letter.

"I only knew the existence of the letter after the lawyer for the plaintiff in the case Saman Pemula No: R1-24-104-2010 showed me the affidavit from Saifuddin Nasution, the current Secretary-General of PKR that states that one of the grounds of his action is the contents of the said letter which is actually forged letter," Salehuddin said in a media statement.

"I am lodging this police report hoping that a police investigation can be conducted to determine the person/persons responsible for the forgery, who may have their own reasons for doing so. I am confident this forged letter has transgressed criminal and civil laws, and it has injured my reputation, implying that I am involved in untruthful and inaccurate actions."

But Saifuddin was clear that neither he nor PKR had been involved in any improper conduct, accusing Salehuddin and his cohorts of trying to tarnish PKR's image.

Saifuddin also assured that PKR would cooperate fully with the police in their investigations.

Enemies of PKR

The Kuala Lumpur High Court had yesterday ruled against Jenapala, dismissing the case with costs. Jenapala had filed an injunction to stop PKR from declaring long-time vice president Azmin Ali as the deputy president after he won the party's historic direct elections last weekend.

On the many complaints about the party's recently-concluded one-member-one-vote election, Saifuddin stated that the Election Commission headed by Dr Molly Cheah received a total of 289 complaints. After investigations, only 12 reports remained outstanding.

"Only 12 reports are outstanding and they involved issus not fatal to the election outcomes," he stressed at the media conference held on the sidelines of the party's7th Annual Congress.

Saifuddin also slammed unfair reporting by certain mainstream media, citing several caption stories which were not "accurate" and bore alleged "irregularities" such as picture of persons identified as election monitors when they were clearly not acting in such capacity or appointed by PKR at all.

Pundits contacted by Malaysia Chronicle said the latest moves and the emergence of Salehudin was a sign that enemies of PKR would continue to try rocking party, which is due to name its new leadership lineup on Sunday.

Salehudin had parted on bitter terms with PKR and is speculated to have brokered the defections of several of the party's leaders to Umno. His close associates in PKR were businessman John Soh Chee Wen, Zaid Ibrahim and Sabah chief Jeffrey Kitinggan.

It is not clear if Soh is still with PKR but Zaid quit last week, while Jeffrey did not contest any key posts in the recent party elections.

Malaysia Chronicle appends below the media statement from Salehuddin

Forged letter as court evidence

I have lodged a police report at 3 p.m. on 26 November 2010 at the Dang Wangi police station regarding a forged letter dated 2 February 2009 purportedly written by me as the Secretary-General of Parti Keadilan Rakyat then.

I only knew the existence of the letter after the lawyer for the plaintiff in the case Saman Pemula No: R1-24-104-2010 showed me the affidavit from Saifuddin Nasution, the current Secretary-General of PKR that states that one of the grounds of his action is the contents of the said letter which is actually forged letter.

I am lodging this police report hoping that a police investigation can be conducted to determine the person/persons responsible for the forgery, who may have their own reasons for doing so.

I am confident this forged letter has transgressed criminal and civil laws, and it has injured my reputation, implying that I am involved in untruthful and inaccurate actions.

I attached herewith a copy of the said letter, my affidavit in reply and the minutes of the PKR Political Bureau meeting dated 30 August 2009, 6 months later, which still acknowledges the membership of the said member.

I am disappointed with the actions of those behind this forgery which clearly shows that they believe the ends justify the means, and I am confident if these cohorts are put in power in Putrajaya, more government institutions will be abused as reflected in this case that I am reporting.

I will be calling a press conference in due course. Although I have fully retired from politics for nearly a year, with this case I am now dragged back into the national political arena. I accept this challenge in order to uphold the truth.

DATO’ SALEHUDDIN HASHIM