SACKED PKR central committee member Zakaria Abdul Hamid has challenged party president Anwar Ibrahim and secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail to admit they were wrong in dismissing him as no due process was carried out.

Zakaria, who reiterated that his sacking was unlawful and unjust, told the duo “to stop hiding behind the MACC and dangling its name to hide their own wrongdoing”.

He was alluding to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission letter they had submitted to PKR’s disciplinary board over the two alleged cases involving him and Ismail Duhladi, another party member.

“They must act fairly in accordance with the principles of ‘reformasi’,” Zakaria said in a statement today.

He also said the two men’s oft-repeated claims, as recent as yesterday, that the sacking was based on MACC recommendation, were false and calculated to grossly mislead party members and the public.

He added in paragraph four of the MACC letter stated that an inquiry is to be held into the complaint by the party disciplinary board.

He questioned how he can be sacked for corruption when MACC deputy chief Azam Baki had confirmed that the deputy public prosecutor had decided against prosecution.

Describing himself as “a small party member” who has been bullied relentlessly by Anwar and Saifuddin, Zakaria questioned why PKR leadership and the disciplinary board ignored the call for an inquiry.

“In clear breach of this, I was sacked without even an inquiry. This is in breach of every known principle of decency and justice.

“The most basic right to be heard, which even a murderer is given, is denied to me,” said Zakaria who was Bera PKR division chief.

He said he was appalled that Anwar, seen as the “so-called icon of reformasi”, was defending this unjust action.

He also questioned if factional politics in PKR had gone to such an extreme that “the leadership has lost all sense of right and wrong”.

“It is mischievous and ill-intentioned of Anwar and Saifuddin to give the false perception that I have committed corruption.”

Zakaria said for Anwar and Saifudin to “pretend it is not important that the MACC said the letter was wrongly issued” is “truly shocking”.

That, he said, seems to suggest the duo do not understand the importance of having fair process in disciplinary matters.

He admitted he told members in a meeting that there are small projects from the housing ministry that they can apply from the relevant district councils.

“Let me emphasise that they were only asked to apply for it. What is wrong with that? Where is the offence?”

He said it is left to the authority concerned to decide.

Yesterday, 20 PKR central committee members, led by deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali, rejected the sacking of Zakaria, citing a flawed process and failure to meet the principles of justice.

In a memorandum to the disciplinary board, they said the sacking of Zakaria was illegal.

The 20 also demanded Anwar apologise for making the wrong decision. – December 1, 2019.