The Selangor government has again rallied behind the MB’s political secretary Faekah Hussin over her involvement in a support letter row, this time saying that the incident is completely different from the one which involved a Klang councillor in 2010.

The then-Klang Municipal Council (MPK) member, Tee Boon Hock, was dismissed right away in August 2010 after being reported to have used an exco member’s letterhead to issue a support letter for his son’s company to procure state projects.   

NONE When asked why the state is taking a complete different approach now in handling the Faekah (left) issue, Selangor MB Abdul Khalid Ibrahim agreed with Selangor exco member Ronnie Liu, who quickly came to Faekah’s defence and said the issue is not similar.

“That’s why I don’t want to answer this (question),” said Abdul Khalid after a brief silence.

“Because whether or not the letter can be regarded as a support letter is still another issue,” he said.

Liu was the superior of Tee when the incident came into the media spotlight, and the Pandamaran assemblyperson had denied having endorsed the support letter as claimed by Tee.

Faekah has come under fire in the past weeks for sending out letters recommending a number of law firms to be considered for appointment as legal consultant to Permodalan Negeri Selangor Bhd (PNSB), including a firm run by her niece.

She had denied that these were support letters and Khalid has also defended her, saying the letter was a normal matter and not against ethics.

Not barred from sending 'letters for the consideration of others'

However, when asked about a state circular in July 2010 barring all state civil servants from issuing support letters, Khalid said that the circular did not prohibit them from “sending letters for the considerations of others”.

The Ijok assemblyperson said that while those in the state government can still issue support letter, it is confined to the condition that the letter does not say approval.

“Everyone can issue a support letter, even you (journalists) can do it. But whether or not it will be accepted, it’s another matter,” he said.

Elaborating his personal opinion, he said the state does not encourage the practice as it will form a certain perception towards the state.

“For the civil servants, they can forward the (recommendation) letters, but not voice support.

“We are discussing about this,” he said.

Meanwhile, when asked whether he had been summoned to face the PKR political bureau over the incident, his answer was non-committal.

“I abide by the rules of the political bureau, all discussions and decisions shall remain in the bureau,” he said.

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