Sue me! Rafizi dares law minister

The PKR strategic director dares de facto law minister Nazri Aziz to sue him over the former's 'Hummer' expose.

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PETALING JAYA:  PKR’s Rafizi Ramli has dared Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Abdul Aziz to sue him over the expose involving his son, Nedim and a Hummer supposedly given by controversial timber tycoon Michael Chia.

“If Nazri wants to take legal action, that is his right. If this is slander, then he has to take action…If what I’m saying is not right then Nazri has to take legal action immediately, like with Shahrizat,” he said, referring to former Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.

He said this after he showed video footage of Chia’s Hummer being used by Nedim’s family to reporters at the PKR headquarters.

This followed an expose the PKR strategic director made in Parliament yesterday.
The allegation was later brushed off by Nazri, who regarded Rafizi’s claim as less than a “mosquito bite”.

[Rafizi was referring to Shahrizat's purported involvement with the RM250 million National Feedlot Corporation scandal. The matter, which Rafizi exposed in the past, led the former Women's minister to sue him and Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin for RM100 million for defamation.]

PKR has argued that Chia was arrested by Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) for smuggling RM40 million, intended for Sabah Umno.

Nazri had earlier told Parliament that Chia was never arrested by the ICAC. Rafizi disputed this, claiming that a lack of cooperation from Malaysia’s authorities led the Hong Kong commission to drop the case.

Today, Rafizi showed seven different video clips of the Hummer parked at and travelling from Clearwater Residences, Damansara Heights, where Nedim is said to reside.

The clips appeared to depict the Hummer as a storage vehicle and that it moved via convoy, carrying the family’s maid and personal bodyguard.

“The family doesn’t travel in the Hummer. They travel in a Toyota Vellfire, and Nedim in a sports car,” Rafizi said, adding that a green Audi was seemingly owned by the family.

None of the videos appeared to show Nedim or any of his family members.

Rafizi added that these videos would soon be made available on the Internet via YouTube. A report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, he said, would also be lodged next week.

Take a break, Nazri told
These events led Rafizi to ask Nazri to take a “holiday” from his work as minister while the link between him and Chia was investigated.

“There is already a precedent set in Shahrizat ['s case], because what is revealed in this is not too different from her. She claimed the same, that she was not involved.

“From a gentleman to a gentleman… it would be right for Nazri to take a holiday temporarily while waiting for the investigation [to go through],” he said.

He said that it was not right for Nazri to claim that he had nothing to do with the Hummer, and that it was only between Chia and his son.

Citing the MACC Act 2009, Rafizi asked if Nedim received the car – estimated to be nearly RM500,000 – because Nazri was a minister.

Section 16(a) of the act states that anyone by himself or with help from another, who receives, agrees to receive, promises or offers when it comes to corruption is guilty of an offence.

With this, he said that Nazri’s excuse could not be accepted.

He also dared the minister, MACC and the Attorney-General’s Chambers to show proof that Chia was cleared by Hong Kong’s ICAC. This was echoed by PKR-Batu MP Tian Chua who was also present.

“Show proof that Michael Chia is free from all corruption, that the ICAC has freed Michael Chia, that he was never caught in Hong Kong,” he said.