Rafizi Ramli has called for the functions of NexG Berhad to be placed under state control amid allegations of a corporate tussle engulfing the firm contracted by Putrajaya to supply MyKad and passports.
Speaking on his “Yang Berhenti Menteri” podcast last night, the former economy minister argued that since NexG manages highly sensitive national security assets, the tasks delegated to the company are too critical to be left in private hands which are susceptible to manipulation.
“This is a national security matter. Wouldn’t it be better if this were handled directly by the government? What is so difficult about that? That’s the most basic question.
“When you have a company with contracts worth billions of ringgit and guaranteed business…then every time the government changes, it becomes a target for this kind of corporate tussle.
“Everyone around the prime minister will want a piece of NexG,” he added.
While pushing for government contracts awarded to NexG to be reviewed and the transfer of its duties to a government-owned company, Rafizi acknowledged that such a move is unlikely to take place as there is “too much money to be lost”.
“That’s the danger - when new leadership (in government) comes in, they might say: ‘if we do it that way, we won’t get a single sen, but if we maintain it (as is), maybe I can get RM200 million’. That’s the problem,” Rafizi said.
The former PKR deputy president’s remarks come amid claims that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had intervened in businessperson Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak’s purported attempt to “take control” of NexG.
On March 12, Channel News Asia (CNA) reported that the supposed “order” from Anwar to his former political secretary had been issued earlier this week, with the alleged directive said to clear the way for businessperson Ishak Ismail to lead NexG instead.
The report added that while Farhash holds no direct equity in NexG, he has a 20 percent interest in MMAG Holdings Berhad, a logistics firm in which NexG owns a 10 percent stake.
While Farhash denied the allegations made in the report and issued a letter of demand to the news agency, NexG yesterday announced that Ishak and his son, Najib Ishak, have joined the company’s board as non-executive directors.
Their inclusion on the board comes after they emerged as the company’s largest shareholders via Raya Aviation Holdings Berhad on March 4.
In a bourse filing, the board also maintained that past investments in quoted shares, which remain under review by the previous board, were made in compliance with applicable laws and listing requirements.
“The executive directors of the company believe that these investments are integral to the company’s strategic transformation and expansion plans,” the filing by the new board stated.
Board tussle
Last week, NexG temporarily suspended the powers of its executive chairperson and CEO, Abu Hanifah Noordin, ostensibly to facilitate a probe into the appropriateness of certain investments in publicly listed companies.
This was believed to include NexG’s loss-making investments in MMAG in March 2025, the same month that Farhash became the latter’s largest shareholder, as well as in Classita Holdings Berhad, now NexG Bina Berhad.
The Edge reported that Hanifah wanted Ishak, whose sons control Raya Aviation, to become a board member of NexG, along with one of Ishak’s sons. Ishak’s daughter, Siti Nur Aisyah, is also a NexG shareholder allied to Hanifah.
Also reportedly allied with Hanifah was Velocity Capital Berhad - the financing arm of Velocity Capital Partners Berhad, which was the company in which MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki once held shares.
Hanifah’s plan to appoint Ishak and several others to the NexG board allegedly necessitated the removal of seven directors, including lawyer Chong Loong Men, who was previously implicated in Bloomberg’s report on a “corporate mafia”.
While Hanifah had his powers reinstated after the previous board - said to be aligned with Farhash - resigned en masse, he earlier claimed his suspension was because he raised objections and tried to protect NexG from “being robbed in daylight”.
He alleged that a “highly politically linked figure” whom he only identified as Mr X, together with a NexG board member, had applied pressure to several directors and key members of NexG’s management to leave the company under duress.
RCI needs to be established
Commenting on NexG’s intricate corporate web involving high-profile individuals and potentially damning allegations, Rafizi said the tussle has only cemented the need for the establishment of a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to investigate claims regarding the “corporate mafia”.
“When Bloomberg first reported about the ‘corporate mafia’, those who, at the same time, accused me of being corrupt and taking RM3 billion worth of projects and all that - this is exactly what they were trying to hide,” Rafizi claimed.
The Pandan MP had previously criticised two ongoing MACC investigations into his alleged financial misconduct when he was in the cabinet, arguing that the timing of the probe - following his call for Azam’s suspension after Bloomberg’s report - demonstrated the risk of power abuse.
On his podcast last night, Rafizi also asserted that with the recent report by CNA, the government could no longer dismiss allegations surrounding NexG as mere speculation, with the report raising questions on what the nation’s top leadership knew about the matter.
“With (the CNA) report, how can we hide it anymore? We cannot. It means Anwar was aware of what Farhash was doing.
“Anwar was aware of what was happening with the contracts (awarded to NexG), with the exposure involving national security.
“So, whatever we want to say about this ‘corporate mafia’, we cannot run away from answering the fact that not only did this happen under our watch, but the key leadership is seen to be a player in it,” he alleged. - Mkini
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