KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 — PKR lawyers today attacked legal firm Shafee & Co for telling the Attorney-General and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to stand firm on their charges against Rafizi Ramli in the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal, saying the request was “self-serving and preposterous”.
N. Surendran and Latheefa Koya, who both represent Rafizi, reminded Shafee & Co that it was because of the PKR strategy director’s exposes that the firm’s client — National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) — had found itself hauled to court for criminal breach of trust.
They said the charges should be withdrawn as Rafizi (picture) had acted on public interest when he exposed the NFCorp’s financial documents in public, even though his actions had violated the country’s banking confidentiality laws.
“What business or moral authority do they have to issue statements on the BAFIA charges against Rafizi?
“Rafizi’s exposures were a public-spirited act which should not have led to criminal charges being laid against him,” the lawyers said in a joint press statement today.
BAFIA refers to the Banking and Financial Institutions Act, which Rafizi was charged under for disclosing the private financial documents of the NFCorp in his quest to expose the firm’s alleged mishandling of a RM250 million federal soft loan.
The soft loan was granted to the NFCorp, which is run by the family members of senior Umno politician Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, to operate the National Feedlot Centre (NFC), a federal cattle-farming scheme that aims to meet the country’s future beef needs.
Surendran and Latheefa said that the A-G and the central bank had instead “disgraced themselves” for using BAFIA on Rafizi, adding that the young politician was likely only charged as his exposes on the NFC had embarassed and “politically damaged” Umno and BN.
Shortly after the scandal hit media headlines last year, Shahrizat, who was then a senator and women, family and community development minister, was forced to take a short holiday from Cabinet pending a probe on the matter.
The Wanita Umno chief subsequently declined from seeking reappointment to her ministerial post earlier this year, following the public backlash against herself, Umno and the BN government in the thick of the scandal.
Rafizi’s lawyers also reminded Shafee & Co that apart from the damage to Umno and BN, their client’s expose had also led to the CBT charges against Shahrizat’s husband, NFCorp chairman Datuk Seri Mohamed Salleh Ismail.
“It is sheer hypocrisy for NFC’s lawyers to express worry that ‘the very stratum of banking may collapse’ because of Rafizi’s revelations,” they said.
In a press statement yesterday, Shafee & Co urged the authorities to stand firm on their BAFIA charges against Rafizi, warning that if the legislation was allowed to be breached on the pretext of whistle blowing, “the very stratum of banking” would collapse.
The firm explained that Rafizi had illegally obtained certain bank documents for his exposes, rendering it imperative that the A-G and the central bank to probe the politician for his breach of banking laws.
Shafee & Co had also pointed out that under the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010, a genuine whistleblower should first report to the authorities to allow them to take action.
But Rafizi’s lawyers disagreed, saying it was “silly” to suggest that Rafizi take his expose to other authorities instead of exposing them in public as this would unlikely result in any punitive action against the NFCorp.
“Do they seriously suggest that the Umno or BN government would have taken any action against NFC in the absence of the public pressure created by Rafizi’s revelations of the banking transactions?” they asked.
Instead, Surendran and Latheefa said the authorities should have exercised their discretion in the matter and not charge Rafizi in light of the “public benefit” brought on by his exposes on the NFC.
“Shafee & Co needs to understand that the BAFIA was never intended to be used to conceal or prevent the exposure of criminal acts.
“We call upon the A-G, Bank Negara and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to immediately drop all charges against Rafizi Ramli, in the name of justice and the public interest,” they said.
On November 19, the Shah Alam High Court will hear Rafizi’s application to strike out the BAFIA charges against him.
Rafizi has been charged under Section 97(1) of the BAFIA, for allegedly disclosing four customer account profiles detailing the balance summary for NFCorp, the National Meat and Livestock Sdn Bhd, Agroscience and Industries Sdn Bhd and NFCorp chairman Datuk Seri Mohamad Salleh Ismail, to two individuals identified as Yusuf Abdul Alim and Erle Martin Carvalho.
Under Section 103(1)(a) of the same law, he may be fined a maximum of RM3 million and jailed up to three years if found guilty, which could seriously hobble Rafizi’s chances of standing as a candidate in the 13th general election that must be held by April next year when the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition’s mandate expires.
Former Public Bank clerk Johari Mohamad was also charged on August 1 with abetting Rafizi in disclosing the account profiles for the same four customers, under section 112(1)(a) of the BAFIA, read together with section 91(1) of the same law that deals with confidential banking information.
He faces the same sentence as Rafizi if convicted.
Earlier this week in Parliament, law minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz said Rafizi did not qualify for protection under the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010 as he had violated banking laws in order to expose wrongdoing in the NFC.
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