KTMB chairman Nawawi Ahmad, when contacted by the online portal, confirmed that an investigation was ongoing and Sarbini was on long leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
According to the portal, Sarbini has denied any wrongdoing and claimed there was no fraud involving procurement while he was helming KTMB, and said that he was being targeted unfairly.
Nawawi said in the absence of Sarbini, the board of directors had approved the appointment of general manager for procurement Mohd Hider Yusoff, who is a seasoned railway man, to take over the running of KTMB temporarily.
Nawawi, who is also the MP for Langkawi, said apart from the president’s position, three of the four senior vice-president positions were also vacant, reported the news portal.
It has been reported that the internal probe against Sarbini commenced following a procurement worth millions of ringgit that was apparently done without the KTMB’s board of directors’ approval.
Earlier last month, Sarbini denied being involved in any investigation.