Mohd Fazil William Abdullah, who joined the Barisan Nasional-aligned Indian Muslim Malaysian Congress or Kimma 14 years ago, feels that all his sweat and toil have gone to waste.

Speaking to Malaysiakini , Mohd Fazil said he was shocked to discover that he had been 'unconstitutionally dismissed' by party president Syed Ibrahim Kader on April 30 this year.

Prior to his dismissal, he was the Kimma Federal Territory chairperson.

NONE According to him, Syed Ibrahim had no authority to sack him as the party constitution clearly indicates that four state posts, including that of chairperson, deputy chairperson, secretary and treasurer must be elected by way of secret ballots.

"I was elected as chairperson by all the branch leaders in Federal Territory on March 17 last year. So how can the president throw me out just like that?" asked the former army officer.

Mohd Fazil claimed that 'hidden' motives lurked behind his dismissal as he is very outspoken about his views.

"I took care of Kimma for 14 years and I managed to recruit 12,000 members and 12 branches in Kuala Lumpur alone. But all of a sudden, I was terminated following a heated national working council meeting on April 11," he said.

Although Mohd Fazil was 'dismissed' on April 30, he only received an official letter concerning his dismissal on May 20.

Six days before that, he added, the president and him had talked things over.

"I humbled myself in front of the president, pleading with him not to sack me. I told him I still have many programmes to attend and people still needed me.

"He agreed and said I should carry on with my work. But I still received the dismissal letter on May 20," he said.

April 11 meet ruffles president's feathers

According to Mohd Fazil, the national working council meeting or NCW would meet every three months and all state leaders have the opportunity to raise any problems, issues or suggestions to the party president and other top party leaders.

He said the April 11 meeting did not go down well with Syed Ibrahim.

During the meeting, he claimed, many state leaders questioned the credibility of the party’s information chief, the Youth chief and the Wanita chief.

"When we pointed out these problems to Syed Ibrahim, his ears turned red and he got furious with us for questioning his daughter's credibility, who is also the Wanita chief," said Mohd Fazil.

"I am very sad because I have contributed a lot to this party. He sacked me just because I am too outspoken, although I have used the correct platform to voice out my dissatisfaction," he added.

On April 30, the same day he was 'dismissed', Mohd Fazil went to the Registrar of Societies (ROS) with state leaders from Terengganu and Kelantan to lodge a complaint against Syed Ibrahim.

"He (Syed Ibrahim) is a one-man show. He likes to do everything on his own. Whenever there are people who go against him, he will cut them off. If you ever question him, you will be in the bad books," he said.

President calls it 'temporary' dismissal

NONE Contacted today, Syed Ibrahim ( left ) however explained that Mohd Fazil's dismissal was only temporary as the post will be given back to him after he sorts out the meetings with the 12 branches in Federal Territory.

According to the president, the post has been given to deputy president Mohamad Mohsin Abdul Razak so that he could "strengthen" Federal Territory for the time being.

"We have appointed Mohsin to take over his place and we have explained our reasons to him (Mohd Fazil) that we did not sack him," he said.

This move will also allow Mohd Fazil to focus on the branch meetings and their reports before they are presented to the ROS, explained the president.

"I have told Mohd Fazil to focus on these meetings rather than his other activities. When everything is done, he will be given back the post," said Syed Ibrahim.

The president claimed that Mohd Fazil has failed to come up with financial reports to the ROS since 2006.

"We have even reminded him to hold meetings with the branches, but he never did. I checked with the ROS two days ago, and there were still no reports sent by him," said Syed Ibrahim.

He also clarified that the party had replaced the Youth and Wanita chiefs soon after Mohd Fazil claimed that they were not active.

The president also refuted Mohd Fazil's allegation that he was a 'one-man show' and refused to accept other people's views.

"That is a wild accusation. If we have 80,000 members around the country, how could I run the party all by myself? That is impossible," he said.

Latest development: Mohd Fazil is sacked

However in an about-turn development which happened later in the day, Kimma leadership decided to sack Mohd Fazil for ‘tarnishing the party's image' to the media.

This was despite party president Syed Ibrahim's earlier confirmation that Mohd Fazil's initial dismissal was only ‘temporary'.

NONE Speaking to Malaysiakini after the party's high-level meeting in the evening, Syed Ibrahim said a unanimous decision was reached by the national working council to sack Mohd Fazil.

He said that Mohd Fazil can appeal the decision within the next two years.

When contacted for comment, Mohd Fazil argued that his dismissal as chairperson and a member was unconstitutional as the appointment of NCW members made by the president in the party annual general meeting on April 26 was not according to the party constitution.

"Although I have expected this decision, I will still not accept it and there is no point for me to appeal against it," he said.