PKR vice-president Azmin Ali today said his resignation as a director of the Selangor Economic Development Corporation (PKNS) had nothing to do with his alleged rift with Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim.

He said that he resigned from his post to allow someone younger and more “liked” by Khalid to take over.

azmin ali pc in parliament 020709 02 “I have done my part in PKNS. I have shown my commitment and conviction. Now it is time for someone younger to succeed me and run it.

“But I will continue to participate in state programmes. My aim is to strengthen the party and the state,” said Azmin ( left ), who is Gombak MP, during a press conference at the Parliament lobby today.

Asked about swirling rumours of hostilities between him and Khalid, Azmin said there were some party members who were upset with the menteri besar but he was not one of them.

He said that during the party congress last month, many delegates had expressed concern about Selangor and wanted policies to be in line with the party’s ideology.

He also denied that he was behind attempts to topple Khalid, adding that the latter’s term was expiring soon and it would make no sense to hatch a conspiracy now.

Meanwhile, the state government has confirmed Azmin's resignation, saying that they received his letter through fax yesterday afternoon.

"The state government respects (Azmin's) decision, but (Khalid) is unable to comment on it until the PKNS board of directors look into the resignation," said an official statement from the menteri besar's office.

It added that it was decided in the exco meeting last February that Azmin would be appointed as a director in the state investment arm for two years until Feb 2011.

Also appointed were exco Teresa Kok and Iskandar Abd Samad.

Negeri Sembilan chief refutes detractors

At a separate press conference, Negeri Sembilan PKR chief Kamarul Bahrin Abas refuted claims that the party grassroots were unhappy with his leadership and have urged him to step down.

NONE He said the anonymous attacks against his leadership were baseless claims of “irrelevant bystanders” picked up by an online media organisation.

“This is merely hearsay. They claim that branch leaders spoke (out against me) but they don’t mention who. When we communicated yesterday (with state party leaders), there was no mention of any attempt to remove me,” said Kamarul ( right ), who is also the Teluk Kemang MP.

Asked if he would answer the allegations of weak leadership, Kamarul said that he has no intention of doing so.

“As you can see, this allegation was made anonymously. Why do you want to entertain this?” he said.