Penang PAS secretary Mohd Fadzil Kemi, recently terminated as information officer in the Penang Chief Minister  office, said his boss did not appreciate his contributions to DAP or Pakatan Rakyat.

 

Fadzil did not expect to be abruptly issued a termination letter without chief minister Lim Guan Eng even discussing the matter with him.

 

“He could have met me for only 10 minutes, and it would have been all right,” Fadzil told Malaysiakini .

 

“My only mistake is that I am a PAS member. Why doesn’t the state government terminate the many Umno members still working in it?” he asked.

 

Fadzil received his termination letter - signed by state secretary Farizan Darus - on June 12 at 5.15pm.

 

DAP has been pressuring PAS members to resign from nearly 1,000 posts held in the Penang government, and its state agencies.

 

This is due to PAS passing a motion to sever ties with DAP at its recent muktamar.

 

Former PAS deputy president Mohamed Sabu quit his posts in PBA Holdings Berhad and Penang Halal Hub, while ex-state deputy comissioner I and Parit Buntar MP Mujahid Yusof Rawa ( photo ) quit from Yayasan Islam Pulau Pinang and Kolej Islam Teknologi Pulau Pinang.

 

Two other leaders also quit their posts - Roshidi Hussain as legal advisor and Mhd Nasir Yahya as councillor for the Penang Island City Council.

 

DAP defended

Fadzil said in the past, he often defended DAP when the party was attacked by former PAS members like Hafiz Nordin.

 

Hafiz, the former PAS state youth chief, was often seen participating in rallies with Perkasa and other Malay NGOs against the state government.

 

“Hafiz is my friend and yet for the sake of Pakatan, I defended DAP,” Fadzil said.

 

“But now I am the one who is being charged for not being pro-Pakatan. If I am not for Pakatan, do you think I will work with the CM?” he asked.

 

Fadzil also suspected there were PAS members who may have tried to poison CM’s mind against him.

 

Fadzil was one of the PAS leaders who tried to help settle the problem between PAS and PKR in the recent Permatang Pauh by-election.

 

During the campaign period, PAS Permatang Pauh had threatened to boycott the polls if PKR failed to apologise for not backing president Abdul Hadi Awang’s private members bill on hudud in Parliament.

 

Fadzil claimed that even Mohamed, better known as Mat Sabu ( photo ) and Mujahid had failed to appease the PAS members in Permatang Pauh.

 

“I did everything from A to Z to settle the problem. Sure there are still problems as even husbands and wives have problems and there must be peacemakers.

 

“But now I feel hurt and disappointed with the CM, anyone in my position would feel the same way,” Fadzil lamented.

 

He cited another incident where PAS members refused to distribute the state government’s official publication Buletin Mutiara over a “sensitive” comment made by DAP Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari.

 

But after he intervened, they agreed to do the job.

 

Legal action considered

Meanwhile, Fadzil is considering legal action against the state government for terminating him. 

 

His lawyer is evaluating the case before he decides to initiate legal proceedings for unfair dismissal.

 

His next plan is to wait for the new Penang PAS line-up, as there is a meeting tonight to appoint a new state committee.

 

“Actually I am sometimes tired of politics. Umno did ask me to join them but I do not want to be involved in dirty politics so I joined PAS. 

 

“It looks like Pakatan is no different,” he brooded.

 

“But for Allah’s sake, I will continue to fight for justice, well-being and peace for all communities, for the country. I will continue to struggle in PAS as I know this is a struggle that is blessed by Allah.”