Bera PKR division chief claims he was sacked without a chance to defend himself

Bera PKR division chief Zakaria Abdul Hamid is one of the two members sacked by PKR.

PETALING JAYA: Bera PKR division chief Zakaria Abdul Hamid has claimed that he was sacked from the party without being given the opportunity to defend himself.

In a statement on Sunday (Nov 24), the former political secretary to Works Minister Baru Bian, said he learned of his sacking through media reports.

“This is shocking to me as I was never notified, in any way, of any disciplinary action against me,” he said.

“Not to mention, the action taken against me, if true, did not go through the process of asking me to defend myself as is conventionally done by any political party,” he added.

Zakaria, a member of the central leadership committee, said he will provide an update on further action after getting an official response from the party headquarters.

Earlier, PKR announced that it had sacked two of its members on grounds of corruption.

Zakaria and an ordinary member from Pahang, Ismail Dulhadi, have been stripped of their party membership following corruption allegations brought against them by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

PKR disciplinary board chairman Datuk Ahmad Kassim said the party received a letter from MACC dated Oct 23 on the allegations which are said to have happened during last year's party elections.

"As a party that is against corrupt practices, we need to send a clear message, so we have decided to sack both men from the party.

"Following party procedures, both parties can appeal this decision," he said at a press conference at PKR's headquarters on Sunday.

PKR communications director Fahmi Fadzil said the party could not go into details of the alleged wrongdoings as they were confidential but added there were strong grounds for PKR to take disciplinary action against them.

He added the central leadership council agreed to sack Zakaria and Ismail following the disciplinary board's recommendations.

He also said both men will be receiving a letter from the party about their expulsion.

Fahmi also said it would be up to MACC to take action against the two men.