Now I can campaign for others, Rafizi says after jail sentence

PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli is refusing to be cowed by the jail sentence passed on him earlier today – which effectively precludes him from defending his Pandan seat in the coming general election – saying he will be able to campaign for others.

Rafizi and former Public Bank clerk Johari Mohamad were each sentenced to 30 months' jail after being found guilty of leaking banking data from the accounts of National Feedlot Corporation Sdn Bhd (NFC).

The Pandan MP said he was glad to be granted a stay on the two-and-a-half-year sentence, as it would allow him the opportunity to campaign for other Pakatan Harapan candidates.

"I was expecting to be fined… maybe myself and Johari, of a total of RM1 million, and if we could not pay the amount, maybe spend time in jail.

“In the end, it is a jail sentence, which is good in some sense, and a stay is granted. You can see me smiling despite being asked to serve two-and-a-half years jail,"

"Now I can campaign for others," he told reporters outside the Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur.

Rafizi added that his two convictions – the other pertaining to exposing the 1MDB audit report, which saw him sentenced to 18 months' jail – should not have been considered criminal acts.

As such, he hoped that the sentences and convictions would be overturned by the upper courts.

‘Led by a criminal’

Amanah strategy director Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (photo), who was present at court, said the 30-month jail sentence is too severe.

"It is a move to intimidate whistleblowers who want to expose abuses of power, breaches of trust, corruption and other white collar crimes.

"We cannot avoid such public perception towards the country's laws, as it does not protect good citizens but protects criminals.

“If efforts to prevent crime are considered a crime, then the country is led by a criminal," Dzulkefly told Malaysiakini.

A host of other Pakatan Harapan leaders, including PKR’s Nurul Izzah Anwar, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, Wong Chen, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad and DAP’s Hannah Yeoh, were also present in court.

Nurul Izzah (photo) expressed her hurt over a fellow PKR vice-president being sentenced to prison, adding that since the party’s formation, many of its leaders and members have been thrown behind bars.

"It hurts me to see members and leaders being faced with this since 1998, but this is maybe part of a struggle a bright person like Rafizi, who rejected Umno from the start, has to face,” she said.

Besides Rafizi, PKR may face the prospect of two other vice-presidents, Tian Chua and Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin, being jailed and ruled out of contesting in GE14.  

Nurul Izzah asked if this was the message Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak wanted to show the younger generation, that they will be punished for exposing wrongdoings and abuses of power. -Mkini