Fire and Rescue Department deputy director-general (management) Wan Mohd Nor Ibrahim admitted a few meetings had been held in the office to organise two wedding receptions of director-general Jaafar Sidek Tambi's son in September.

However, he denied this amounted to abuse of power or department resources as has been alleged by the Kuala Lumpur department's deputy director, Mohd Ali Tambi Chik

"I don't deny totally that we have used the department's facilities and time, but it was done for the sake of convenience," said Wan Mohd Nor, who had chaired the main committee for the wedding receptions.

"Maybe one or two meetings were held in the office, but most of the meetings were held outside," he said when contacted in Labuan, where he is on an official trip.

It is learnt that a series of meetings was also held during office hours at the Renaissance Hotel in KL, involving senior officers from a dozen departments.

It could not be ascertained whether the expenses were paid by Jaafar Sidek or the department. The Renaissance public relations manager Farah Halim refused to disclose the information when asked yesterday.

Actions explained

Wan Mohd Nor said two other senior officers, KL director Leonard Athanasius and Selangor director Zaharuddin Hassan, had chaired two committees to organise the wedding receptions.

"I can only speak on my own behalf and not the other two," he said.

The first wedding reception was held on Sept 14 at the Stadium Juara in Bukit Kiara and was attended by some 5,000 people. The next day, another function was held at the hotel, where 600 guests were feted.

Wan Mohd Nor claimed Mohd Ali has gone too far in his accusations "as if the whole department had collapsed due to Jaafar Sidek's son's wedding".

"People should understand that in our department, officers do not just work from nine to five but are on the alert around the clock. They also have be present when there is fire or disaster at any time of the day," he said.

"So when we take a little bit of our working time to hold meetings for the director-general's son's wedding, can we be considered as abusing office time?"

He added that the meetings held at the department's premises were "not official meetings".

However, malaysiakini learnt that the third main committee meeting on June 17 had been held at the Selangor department headquarters at 11am. It was said to have been attended by 15 senior officers, including Jaafar Sidek and his wife Zainon Saad.

Asked whether an unofficial meeting can be held during office hours, Wan Mohd Nor said the meeting was held "after an official meeting relating to the department's matter had ended".

"It was not a big deal," he stressed. "Furthermore, we did not have meetings on a daily basis, but only once a month over four or five months."

Figures refuted

On Mohd Ali's allegation that a senior officer from Labuan had been present at the main committee meetings, the deputy director-general said the officer concerned, Mohd Din Rajad, was invited to attend as he was already in Kuala Lumpur on official business.

Wan Mohd Nor also claimed that Mohd Ali (photo) had blown the figure out of proportion when he charged that at least half of the department's 10,000 personnel went to the wedding.

"Let me make it clear that we only issued 2,000 cards for the Sept 14 reception, and those who attended include spouses and children," he said, adding that those who went had taken leave or had the day off.

He also refuted the figure given by Mohd Ali that some 1,200 staff were involved in the wedding preparations, stating that it was "only about 100" personnel.

"I have no idea how he came up with the figure... it is obvious that he is merely looking for other people's mistakes without even checking his facts," he said.

Yesterday, the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) started a full-scale investigation into a report lodged by Mohd Ali, alleging corrupt practices on the part of Jaafar Sidek and his senior officers.

ACA officers were sent to the department's KL headquarters, Stadium Juara and Renaissance Hotel.

The matter had been brought to light in the Dewan Rakyat by PAS MP for Pokok Sena, Mahfuz Omar on Oct 10. However, Mohd Ali has denied providing him with the information.