Rafizi to EC: Sue me

Pandan MP confident he is correct in accusing the Election Commission of awarding the indelible ink contract through direct negotiations to its crony, Mohamed Salleh Mohamad Ali.

KUALA LUMPUR: PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli told Parliament today that he was willing to make public his statement that a businessman linked to top Election Commission (EC) officials had secured the indelible ink contract through direct negotiations.

In repeating the assertion outside the Dewan Rakyat’s walls, the Pandan MP risks facing legal action from the EC as he will no longer be given immunity as a parliamentarian.

“I am ready for the EC to commence legal action against me,” Rafizi told reporters at the Parliament lobby, adding that he was unperturbed by such a turn of events as he had the facts on his side.

“I will also file a motion in the Dewan Rakyat so we can discuss the issue of the EC’s integrity during the next Parliament session,” he added.

Rafizi stressed that the onus was on the EC to convince the public, and not just him, that they were in the clear.

“In accordance to Article 114(2) of the Federal Constitution, the Election Commission must be appointed from among those whom have public confidence on their side.

“So the fight is not with me. The fight is for them to clear their name,” stressed Rafizi.

On Tuesday, Rafizi told the House that Mohamed Salleh Mohamad Ali was awarded the contract to supply the EC with indelible ink, caps and T-shirts for the 13th general election.

He claimed that Mohamed Salleh had close relations with BN’s top brass, including the EC chairman and deputy chairman.

Rafizi was spurred to repeat his stance outside of the Dewan Rakyat when Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia suggested he do so today, during the debate session in Parliament.

Motion denied

Earlier today, Pandikar had denied a motion from Reezal Merican Naina Merican (Kepala Batas-BN) to refer Rafizi to the rights and privileges committee for his remarks on the indelible ink contract.

Reezal Merican had contended that Rafizi’s claims had “misled” and “insulted” the House, and in doing so violated Standing Order 36(12).

But Pandikar pointed out that Rafizi’s statement had failed to meet the three criteria required to refer a lawmaker to the committee: (1) the statement is false, (2) the MP knows the statement is false but does not correct it, (3), the MP has the intention to mislead the House.

“I cannot say that the statements were misleading, because there were no opposing facts. And if you wanted to refer him to the committee, you should have done this immediately,” said Pandikar, in denying the motion.

“Another thing is intention. Pandan was sure he had his facts and was confident he was right. So if Pandan is brave and sincere, he will repeat his statement outside.”

He added that Rafizi’s remarks only violated Standing Order 36(8), which does not allow parliamentarians to mention certain public figures, including members of the EC, in the House unless a motion was moved for that purpose.

This prompted Rafizi to stand up in Parliament and say: “I will file a motion under 36(8) to discuss the Election Commission and I shall repeat my remarks outside the House.”

‘Shahidan confirmed my expose’

Later, in a press conference at the Parliament lobby, Rafizi claimed that his assertions had been vindicated by the fact that Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Shahidan Kassim had yet to issue a denial on the matter.

Instead, Shahidan had admitted yesterday that a firm named Nash Ventures, also allegedly controlled by Mohamed Salleh, was awarded a contract to supply caps to the EC during the recent elections.

“I had previously said three firms controlled by Mohamed Salleh received contracts through direct negotiations through the EC, including his main company, Integrated Challenger (M) Sdn Bhd,” said Rafizi.

“Nash Ventures is also linked to Mohamed Salleh. One of the directors of Nash Ventures is Shamsia Mansoor, who is also the director and shareholder of Allisons Corp. The other director and shareholder of Allisons Corp is none other than Mohamed Salleh.”

He suggested that Mohamed Salleh and Shamsia were related, citing the fact that both had the same home address.

He said that the fact that Mohamed Salleh’s companies’ financial records with the Company Commissions Malaysia had not been updated since 2009 also suggested cosy ties with EC’s top brass.

“Among the key criteria for a project to be awarded to a firm through direct negotiations is sound financial position. This is because such negotiations are done for immediate performance work.

“This is why I question why a company whose financial records have not been updated and filed since 2009 was chosen to supply the indelible ink,” said Rafizi.