Councillor who took sexual favours sacked

Source TheStar

IPOH: The state government has declared as vacant the post of Perak Tengah district councillor, held by Zul Hassan who is facing a corruption charge and admitted to having accepted sexual favours.

State Education, Local Government, Housing and Public Transport Committee chairman Nga Kor Ming said the move in asking Zul to resign is to defend the integrity of the state government and to protect the interest of the people.

“We have found him unsuitable to hold the post of a councillor,” Nga told reporters here on Monday.

“With due respect, we have asked him to resign,” he said.

Nga said out that under the Local Government Act, the appointment and dismissal of a councilor was the state government’s prerogative.

“He will be replaced once we have identified a suitable candidate,” he added.

The move was immediately hailed by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).

“Zul Hassan, who is under investigation by the Anti-Corruption Authority (ACA), had not only issued a statement confessing to illicit sex, but also justified his decision by saying he was induced into committing thw immoral act,” PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said in a statement.

“Such a statement makes a mockery of Pakatan Rakyat’s pledge towards a government that respects the trust of the people,” she said.

Zul Hassan is facing a corruption charge over a development project at Seri Iskandar in Perak Tengah. In a complaint that he lodged against one Mohamad Imran Abdullah, he and businessman Fairul Azrim Ismail admitted having accepted offers to have sex with Chinese nationals.

Mohamad Imran is the complainant in a corruption case in which Zul and four others are the accused.

Zul Hassan had been quoted as saying “what is important is we did not ask for the women. He supplied them to us. If people sedekah (donate), don’t you want to accept it?”

Dr Wan Azizah said the PKR disciplinary committee will deal with Zul Hassan, who will be asked to explain his statement above.