Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim will "assume the innocence" of Selangor PKR chief Azmin Ali pending a probe to find out who is responsible for hiring redundant and highly-paid contract staff into the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS).

He said this after revealing that those who had their contracts terminated were hired into positions which were already filled upon recommendation of the PKNS board of directors, which then included Azmin ( right ).

By virtue of his position as menteri besar, Khalid is also the chairperson of PKNS, while other political appointees in the board are Seputeh MP Teresa Kok and now exco member Iskandar Samad.

He said PKNS whistleblowers complained that some of these contract staff did not go through interviews and received remuneration as high as RM 30,000 per month.

To a question, he said: "I assume it is not true (that Azmin hired them), and if it is true I will double check the veracity of the information.

"People are to be assumed innocent (before proven guilty)," he told reporters.

The termination of 22 PKNS contract staff raised speculation that the feud between Azmin and Khalid had not been quelled despite PKR triggering the Kajang by-election.

Asked of the feud in an interview with Malaysiakini last week, Khalid said that the by-election is part of a "programme" to amalgamate the party towards a common cause.

Meanwhile, at the press conference today, Khalid said PKNS "should not be abused" be it politically or otherwise.

He, however, did not give a clear answer when asked if this is a "political purge".

He said that the investigation will be conducted by acting general manager Azlan Alfiah, who will send a brief report to him weekly, but the outcome will be due "in time".

"He is under pressure over all this, so we should give him time," he said.

Willing to declassify documents

Khalid said that he is willing to declassify any documents to reveal the truth and encouraged the Selangor assembly to hold a Selangor Compentency Accountablity and Transparency (Selcat) hearing on it.

He said that the terminations were part of a sanctioned restructuring venture which the staff are aware of and would save PKNS RM7 million a year.

He said that he cannot guarantee that no more contract staff will be let go, but said that there are only about 30 contract workers.

Khalid also said that he was not aware of the hiring of the staff despite being PKNS chairperson as they were done through PKNS subsidiary PKNS Holdings Sdn Bhd.

"PKNS does not consolidate its accounts so I was not aware. However, PKNS will now be consolidating its account in keeping with the integrity pact we signed," he said.

PKNS signed an integrity pact with Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in 2011.

He said that as part of the pact, PKNS also encouraged whistleblowers from the corporation to alert top management of wrongdoings, and the issue of redundant contract staff was raised by several whistleblowers.

"For example, a permanent staff who has worked with PKNS for 15 years and earns more than RM4,000 but has no opportunities for a promotion as the new head of department is hired on contract through PKNS Holdings and earning double than what the permanent staff earns," he said.

He said that Azlan had met with him to present his report on the matter and suggested a restructuring in human resources, which Khalid agreed to.

He said that other measures will also be taken to streamline PKNS' operations, including reviewing joint ventures and strategies, to protect Selangor's interests.