Saturday February 2, 2013
Sand mining firm sacks CEO Wan Halim
By SIRA HABIBU
sira@thestar.com.my
PETALING JAYA: Barely a year after several employees were sacked for complaining of irregularities, Kumpu-lan Semesta Sdn Bhd – Selangor’s sole sand mining concessionaire – turned on its chief executive officer (CEO), Wan Abdul Halim Wan Ismail (pic).
Selangor Barisan Nasional coordinator Datuk Seri Mohd Zin Mohamed queried why the Selangor Government did not lodge a report with the relevant authorities if there were suspected hanky-panky dealings in the state government-linked company (GLC).
“Selangor should respect the rules of the law and let such matters be handled by the authorities.
“We find it shocking to learn through the media that the CEO of a GLC was sacked after a private investigation into his alleged wrongdoing,” he said.
Mohd Zin was responding to a report in a Malay daily that Semesta’s board of directors sacked Wan Halim after investigation by an independent firm found him guilty of alleged power abuse and breach of operational procedure.
The Pakatan Rakyat-led Selangor Government, he said, had definitely defied its “competency, accountability, transparency” policy as the result of the investigation was never made public.
“It is also unbecoming of a government to carry out a secret investigation using a firm as reported. This is so undemocratic,” he said.
He also asked if the Selangor Government had “clipped the wings” of the Land and Mines Department, which was in charge of enforcement.
It is learnt that Wan Halim, who was appointed CEO in July 2010, had earlier been suspended following a probe by a special task force.
It was also reported that although Khalid had renewed Wan Halim’s contract for another two years, he was told to take a break in December last year before his sacking last month.
Talk is also rife that Wan Halim was a victim of political power play in the state.
“We suspect a certain (Pakatan) leader has a hand in this as he’s trying to put his people in strategic positions to make it easier to topple Khalid,” alleged a source.
Khalid’s political secretary Faekah Husin said the Mentri Besar’s office would not issue any press release. Wan Halim could not be reached for comment.
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