PUTRAJAYA – Rafizi Ramli clarified that his previous warning to Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Tan Sri Azam Baki that Pakatan Harapan (PH) would come after him if it forms the new government was not a literal threat.
Instead, the newly minted economic affairs minister said his remark, made during the election campaign last month, was a mere “political soundbite”.
“I don’t think that’s exactly what I said. I think it made a political soundbite or news bite," he said in a press conference at the Economic Planning Unit headquarters here.
He was asked to comment on his speech during a “Kita Boleh” rally on November 16 warning Azam that PH will be coming after him in the event it comes into federal power, following an MACC raid on his data firm, Invoke Solutions Sdn Bhd, during campaigning.
Rafizi had said that the raid was in violation of existing legal procedures and was carried out with the intention of uncovering alleged dirt about him, while claiming that the action was part of a broader strategy by Barisan Nasional to counter PH’s campaign.
“We’ll meet in court first tomorrow (today) as there is confidential information (inside the seized documents) related to customers, which are controlled under bank secrecy and customer confidentiality laws,” he had said then.
“I know Azam is watching this (rally). I hope when PH wins the election and when we come after you, you won’t shift the blame to your brother again.”
This is in reference to Azam’s previous claim that the almost two million shares in a public-listed company he allegedly held between 2015 and 2016 while he was still with MACC were purchased on behalf of his brother, Nasir Baki.
Clarifying the matter today, the PKR deputy president said what he meant was that should a new government take over the federal administration, priority should be on ensuring the independence of all enforcement authorities.
He said it is important that the actions taken by these agencies are in accordance with the law.
“Not just him (Azam), or anyone, or myself. We have to be careful what we do,” he said.
“Once we make sure there is no interference and all institutions are independent, and the check and balance works, then everyone should really stay on the right course.
“The law will take care of itself once we have full independence. That’s a reminder to everyone,” he added.
Azam had previously stated that it would be inaccurate to describe the action taken by MACC on Invoke Solutions as a “raid”.
He said the agency had just gone to Rafizi's office to interview his staff and obtain some related financial documents.
He also confirmed that while the visits by MACC were in relation to the RM18.5 million asset declaration by Rafizi, the anti-graft body is also investigating his revelation of an RM2 billion flood mitigation project that was awarded to a company 17 days after Parliament was dissolved. – The Vibes, December 5, 2022
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