Don T Blame Anyone But Yourself For Your Downfall Pmx S Senior Polsec Who Quit His Job Told

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DATUK Seri Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin who resigned yesterday (Nov 25) as the senior political secretary (polsec) to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has been reminded not to accuse anyone of tarnishing his image and that of the Madani government which led to his decision to step down.
The aide who insinuated on his social media account that “such attack had let to him having to defend himself” was further reminded that he had himself dug his own grave with a slew of questionable actions/involvements since assuming his post in December 2022.


The last straw could have been last week’s bad press being when pressure mounted on PMX to sack him for having issued a support letter for six contractors tendering for refurbishing works at the Sultanah Fatimah Specialist Hospital in Muar, Johor using his official letter head.

Leading the chorus of critics was former PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli who urged PMX to show his resolute to combat corruption by sacking than “only to harshly reprimand” Shamsul who narrowly lost to Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (now Deputy PM) in the Bagan Datuk parliamentary seat contest during the 2022 national polls.

Beyond the support letter, it has surfaced – coincidentally on the day of Shamsul’s resignation – that the former PKR vice-president has a role in the Sabah mining scandal.
This follows a damning exposé by Datuk Albert Tei Jiann Cheing – the businessman at the centre of the high-profile Sabah mining license corruption case – that he spent RM629,000 on Shamsul after being purportedly assured that he (Tei) could recoup the money channelled to politicians in Sabah.
Among other things, Tei in a Malaysiakini exclusive claimed to have paid for renovations, appliances and furnishings for two properties – one in Bangsar and an official residence in Putrajaya.


According to Tei, he has compiled a dossier exceeding 300 pages, including screenshots of WhatsApp conversations and receipts, to substantiate his claims against Shamsul.
He further claimed to have spent thousands of ringgit on premium cigars and even tailored several suits for the political aide while providing copies of the tailor’s receipt and body measurements.

This is certainly a tight slap on the face of Shamsul who bears the reputation of a giant slayer for having defeated former Melaka chief minister and UMNO strongman Tun Mohd Ali Rustam (now Melaka governor) not once but twice in the 13th General Election (GE13) (2013) and GE 14 (2018) respectively.
More broadly, Shamsul’s resignation has reignited criticism against the Madani government, particularly the effectiveness of PMX’s anti-corruption drive – as to whether it is one of pure rhetoric – “when the person closest to him (PMX) is corruptible yet undetectable”.
Amid the chants of PKR being branded as Parti Kuat Rasuah and Parti Klentong Rakyat, detractors are now wondering if graft buster the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is daring enough to act against Shamsul with ‘crystal clear’ evidence piled against him or would there be another cover-up a.k.a. NFA (no further action).
The onus now is on PMX as the head honcho of PKR and the ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH)-led administration to answer this poser by PAS information chief Fadhli Shaari:
PKR members must ask their/president why did his polsec reign if he’s not guilty.
But if it’s really wrong, why did PMX defend it at the initial stage? Didn’t PMX just mention last week that there was nothing wrong with his polsec? Stand your ground and clear the PMO (Prime Minister’s Office) of the accusations.
And if it’s indeed wrong, how long has this mistake (alleged corruption under PMX’s nose) been going on? How long has PMX allowed this to go on? Doesn’t it also give the impression that the boss, too, might have a share? 
- Focus Malaysia

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