KUALA LUMPUR – PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli has been called up by the Sentul police to give a statement today over allegations he made about special functions minister Datuk Abdul Latiff Ahmad, linking him to the littoral combat ship (LCS) scandal.
In a Facebook post today, Rafizi said he has been ordered to present himself at the Sentul district police headquarters at 3pm to have his statement taken.
“I hope the police will also take swift action (such as this) to investigate the report lodged by Akmal Nasir (PKR’s Johor Baru MP) about Latiff Ahmad, following the revelations in the LCS forensic audit report, which named Latiff as being involved in defence contracts.”
On Wednesday, Sentul police chief Beh Eng Lai confirmed that Rafizi would be called up to give a statement after a report was lodged the night before over allegations the PKR leader made about Latiff and his supposed “wife”.
Beh added that the case is being investigated under Section 500 of the Penal Code (defamation) and Section 233 of the Communication and Multimedia Act 1998 (sharing or dissemination of false, offensive, and threatening content).
Based on checks, the authorities found that the content in question was published at rafiziramli.com, and Rafizi’s Facebook and Twitter pages on different dates.
They also found that on August 25, two videos were published on Rafizi’s TikTok and Instagram accounts.
Beh said Latiff’s aide, aged 30, lodged a report last night at 9.28pm, alleging that Rafizi made slanderous statements via his blog with the aim of ruining Latiff’s good name.
He added that the complainant denied claims that Latiff has a second wife, who was given a multi-million ringgit contract linked to the LCS project, and that this took place when Latiff was a deputy minister.
Recently, Rafizi alleged that Latiff is married to a woman named Zainab Mohd Salleh, who has been linked to a company that allegedly siphoned millions of ringgit in funds from the LCS project.
Rafizi also previously alleged that the Mersing MP had benefited from several other defence projects.
In a series of statements posted on his social media accounts between August 22 and 26, Rafizi had claimed that Zainab – who was mentioned in the forensic audit report released by Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation Bhd, and linked to a firm that allegedly siphoned millions of ringgit in LCS funds – is Latiff’s wife.
Latiff, who is a Bersatu member, denied having any relationship with the woman implicated in the scandal and said he is open to being investigated.
Rafizi responded by challenging Latiff to sue him if the claims he made were untrue, while the minister accused the PKR leader of using him as political fodder ahead of the coming general election. – The Vibes, September 3, 2022
