KUALA LUMPUR – Bersatu leader Datuk Abdul Latiff Ahmad has questioned the RM2.5 million Rafizi Ramili said he used as capital to start his company Invoke Sdn Bhd, saying the PKR leader did not have as many assets in 2015.
Latiff, who has been a target of Rafizi’s exposés on the littoral combat ship scandal, said Rafizi only had RM1.54 million in assets in an asset declaration filed in 2015.
“This sum does not just represent money, but also other assets like land and cars.
“(RM2.5 million) is obviously much higher than all of his assets in 2015. Where did this money come from, and why wasn’t it mentioned in the legal document made on March 10, 2015?” the former minister and Bersatu supreme council member asked in a statement.
Latiff was questioning Rafizi’s explanation on his social media channels that he used his own savings to start Invoke, a company that does data analytics and which Rafizi has used for PKR’s own surveys.
Given the contradiction, Latiff said police and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission should investigate Rafizi, Latiff added.
He also said Rafizi had made a false statement in his 2015 asset declaration.
“I urge the authorities to investigate this problem seriously, given that Invoke has also solicited and received significant public backing, including financial assistance,” he said.
Latiff, however, appears to have missed Rafizi’s explanation on where he got the RM2.5 million to start Invoke.
On November 8, the PKR man posted a video and Facebook post stating that the funds came from his savings in Tabung Haji and Amanah Saham Bumiputera over the years since he was young.
He said he started putting money into Invoke gradually since 2016.
The RM2.5 million in savings came from these investments funded by high salaries he earned while working in London, when the pound was RM6, and from working in Petronas after returning to Malaysia.
Rafizi said as a department head in the national oil company, he drew a salary of RM25,000 a month, and was also paid RM400,000 in compensation when Petronas reduced its retirement age for employees from 60 to 55 years.
Ralso said he received 10 to 12 months’ bonus, every year, for seven years while working at Petronas.
“My gross income a year when I was in my late 20s was around RM500,000 a year,” Rafizi had said, adding that savings from this were used to start Invoke.
Rafizi had also said that a large portion of the RM17 million in Invoke shares were owned by investors, and would one day be sold to the public when the company is listed. – The Vibes, November 12, 2022
