Parti Keadilan Rakyat's (PKR) newly appointed treasurer-general Abdul Khalid Ibrahim considers his appointment a timely entry into politics given the emerging symptoms of maladministration.

"Last year, I gave a talk on factors to consider when formulating future policies which includes fairness, equity, transparency and the right to information. The timing is right," said the corporate figure at his first press conference as a PKR leader in Kuala Lumpur today.

"Now is a suitable time for Keadilan to move because the country's management must follow the right concept. The end and the means to it must be right."

He was also presented with a letter of appointment by PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ibrahim.

"What I said last year is materialising. (Now) I can continue to elaborate on those points and clear the confusion Malaysians are feeling because of wrong fundamentals."

Asked about the ongoing spat between ex-premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi regarding backtracking of certain policies, he said it signalled trouble.

"This is a symptom of improper management which will continue to (show). The community will be the ultimate losers in a drama that doesn't benefit anyone."

Abdul Khalid described the exchange between both leaders as "a drama that involves millions of ringgit which only serves to burden the people, not the leaders".

Income disparity

Asked about immediate plans, he said he will draw on experiences gained during his top-level stints as plantation giant Guthrie CEO and Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) chairperson.

"One of my efforts in PNB was to reduce the income gap which I believe is important for economic stability. This is also the view shared by (PKR advisor) Anwar (Ibrahim).

"I'm very keen in community development and hope to be able to plan a good and effective strategy to achieve (the party's) objectives."

Tweaking the 9th Malaysia Plan towards achieving an equal re-distribution of the country's wealth is among his top priority.

"We need to see how the Plan can be implemented to reduce the income disparity. It would be unfair if only 30 percent of Malaysians owned 70 percent of the country's riches.

"Related policies could be changed during the annual national budget allocation," added Abdul Khalid who signed up as a PKR member a month ago.

One way to achieve this, he said, was to dismantle the New Development Policy (NDP), the predecessor of the New Economic Policy, an affirmative action scheme launched in 1971 to uplift the lot of poor ethnic Malays.

First of many

Last week, Wan Azizah announced Abdul Khalid's replacement of Abdul Rahman Othman after the latter quit as treasurer-general two days earlier.

In her introduction today, she said he was an old friend of Anwar with a strong commitment towards social and economic justice.

"I believe his eagerness for social justice has led him to join (PKR) and we are very fortunate and grateful to have him joining our struggle."

As PKR treasurer-general, she said, he will be tasked with managing the party funds and to develop an economic management policy.

"We believe our agenda of a new economic system is shared by many more professionals and corporate personalities," she said, expressing hope that many more will follow Abdul Khalid's footsteps into PKR.

Party information chief Tian Chua, when approached later, said Abdul Khalid was not new to politics although he was a technocrat.

"He has always played an important role in the background as a consultant for our economic bureau."

Asked if Abdul Khalid sudden rise to a prominent post had unruffled feathers, he said party members were happy with the appointment.

"In fact, Abdul Rahman made the announcement after the party decided to appoint him (Abdul Khalid)."

On why PKR is becoming a magnet to Malaysia's titled technocrats, Tian said more will be revealed, including the introduction of several prominent figures, during the party's congress scheduled between Sept 1 and 3.