Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli has described MACC’s investigation into him as a form of intimidation, linking it to his recent demand that chief commissioner Azam Baki be suspended.
Rafizi (above) said MACC had “suddenly become active” in probing allegations of misconduct and corruption during his tenure as economy minister, centring on two major national policies - the Silicon Vision Programme and the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR).
“These allegations, where the supposed amounts exceed those involving Najib Abdul Razak, are a form of intimidation,” he said in a statement today.
The PKR lawmaker said the reports against him were lodged by organisations that are “anti-prime minister”, specifically Perkasa and the Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association (PPIM).
He reiterated that both policies launched by Anwar had gone through multiple layers of approval, including cabinet endorsement.
“Since both policies were launched and implemented, there has not been a single report of misappropriation or controversy raised,” he added.
Earlier today, Bernama reported that MACC has opened an investigation into a RM1.1 billion agreement between the government and a foreign company.
According to sources, the investigation follows complaints from several NGOs alleging that the agreement was hastily arranged and biased, and could have financial implications for the government.
The source said MACC had taken several documents related to the agreement from the Economy Ministry on Feb 13 to assist in the investigation.
Why now?
Rafizi argued that the timing of the MACC probe - following his call for Azam’s suspension after allegations reported by Bloomberg - demonstrated the risk of abuse of power.
“The attacks against me, particularly the sudden MACC investigation into government policies that contain no procurement elements or financial motives involving me, show the dangers of allowing someone accused to continue exercising power while under investigation,” he said.
He cited past controversies involving Azam, including questions over share ownership in 2022 and MACC’s raid on the Securities Commission after allegations against the latter’s senior officers.
“That is why the appropriate action is to suspend Azam immediately, as should have been done by (Prime Minister) Anwar (Ibrahim) since last week,” he added.
‘No procurement role’
On the Silicon Vision collaboration with British chip designer Arm Holdings, Rafizi said negotiations involved several stages; from discussions between ministry officials and Arm to inter-ministerial negotiations involving then-international trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz and second finance minister Amir Hamzah Azizan - as well as engagements between Anwar and Arm CEO Rene Haas and SoftBank owner Masayoshi Son.
He stressed that the Economy Ministry was a planning ministry and did not manage procurement or contracts.
“The collaboration with Arm fell under the International Trade and Industry Ministry and was signed by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida).
“Any payments were processed by Mida and screened and approved by the Finance Ministry,” he said, adding that the draft agreement was reviewed by the Attorney-General’s Chambers before cabinet approval.
As such, Rafizi dismissed claims that the Arm agreement was rushed.
“Accepting that allegation would mean accusing the prime minister either of negligence in performing his duties or of not understanding the semiconductor industry and being deceived by me.
“It also suggests that all the ministers involved, senior government officials, the attorney-general and the entire cabinet were deceived by me,” he said.
Rafizi added that there was “not a single piece of evidence” that public funds were misappropriated.
“There is no evidence that I took money, no evidence of funds entering my accounts, and no financial proof whatsoever,” he stressed.
NETR roadmap
On the NETR, Rafizi said the roadmap did not involve public funds, procurement, or project implementation by the economy ministry.
One policy under NETR, he explained, allowed private parties to develop renewable energy projects and supply green power directly to industry without going through Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB).
As a result, companies including UEM Lestra, a subsidiary of UEM owned by Khazanah, announced large-scale renewable energy investments.
Rafizi said UEM Lestra’s RM2.5 billion, 750MW project in Segamat was a private-sector initiative undertaken via a joint venture with I-Squared Capital, with energy to be sold to ESR Group Limited.
“Since when is a minister responsible for developing policy accused of misconduct over decisions made by a private company unrelated to the Economy Ministry?” he asked.
He also accused influencer Ariz Ramli, better known as Caprice, of producing content alleging that he had awarded the UEM Lestra project to a company in which he had an interest.
Rafizi said he would present further details in his podcast this week and would give Ariz an opportunity to apologise for defamation; failing which, he would initiate legal action. - FMT
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