SHAH ALAM: Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali says he expects to get the full audit report on his predecessor Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim’s RM2.6 million “golden handshake” to his staff from Menteri Besar Incorporated (MBI) within this week.

He said the new MBI management was expected to deliver the report pertaining to the alleged breach of regulations in the payouts.

Mohamed Azmin said this after a monthly gathering with the state government’s civil servants in Shah Alam yesterday.

Asked on the action he planned to take against Abdul Khalid if the allegation about the severance payments was proven true, Azmin said he would need to scrutinise the findings before deciding.

Selangor speaker Hannah Yeoh said the state’s Select Committee on Competency, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat) would meet after the Christmas holidays to discuss the matter.

“The issue was raised in the state assembly. Some assemblymen have asked Selcat to investigate MBI and the executives have presented a thorough audit. We are now waiting for further feedback,” she said.

It was reported that MBI’s audit report, tabled at the last state assembly sitting, revealed that Abdul Khalid acted unilaterally without the MBI board of directors’ consent.

Among the findings were that Abdul Khalid, who was MBI chairman, had failed to abide by standard procedures in disbursing the payments to eight ex-MBI employees.

The former aides were reported to have been paid RM2.6 million under a voluntary separation scheme, which was described by a number of people, including Shah Alam MP Khalid Abdul Samad, as an unreasonable amount.

The payment to the aides was alleged to have been made at the end of Abdul Khalid’s tenure and before Mohamed Azmin’s appointment as the new MB took effect on Sept 23. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on December 16, 2014.