PM responds to calls for sacking over support letter issue, says reprimand sufficient

JOHANNESBURG: While he did not agree with actions by his political secretary to issue a contractor support letter for a hospital project, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said no approval was made for the project based on the letter.

The Prime Minister said any action against his political secretary should be based on the gravity of the matter.

“Look at the gravity of the situation. Was the project approved because of the letter? No, it wasn’t. The letter was not an instruction.

“The secretary-general (of the said ministry) knows what the orders are.

“But we still have to reprimand and remind everyone that all projects must go through the right and proper processes,” he told the media en route to Johannesburg, South Africa for a four-day working visit.

The Prime Minister said the reprimand was to warn the political secretary and to serve as a reminder to all against such actions.

Anwar was responding to Pandan MP Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli’s call for the Prime Minister to sack his political secretary and not merely reprimand him.

The former economy minister said this could serve as an opportunity for the prime minister to show commitment to fight graft.

On Nov 18, Anwar confirmed that he had reprimanded his political secretary over the issuance of a contractor support letter for a hospital project last year, clarifying that government rules and principles do not permit such actions.