Rafizi Ramli, known as opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s lieutenant, is facing a string of raids by authorities just three days before the 15th general election.
He said his data analysis firm, Invoke Solutions Sdn Bhd, has been raided twice by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in the past 24 hours, once last night and today at noon, while the Customs Department has also said that it will do the same.
At a press conference held today at the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) office in Petaling Jaya, the deputy president said that the firm is completely cooperating with the investigations.
However, Rafizi, who is spearheading the party’s campaign effort, emphasized that it is a political prosecution intended to sway public opinion against Pakatan Harapan before election day on Nov. 19.
“As we speak, the MACC is conducting a second raid on my office in Invoke. I understand what is happening,” MalaysiaKini reported.
“I think Barisan Nasional (BN) also understands that they will lose in the general election so, in the last two or three days of the campaign, they are desperate to find political ammo.”
“Because I am on the frontlines of (the Harapan) election campaign against Umno, BN and Penang Perikatan Nasional (PN), I understand that the motive of this investigation is that they are hoping to find something before polling day with which to attack me and sway public support,” said Rafizi, who is also the candidate for Pandan.
According to him, the MACC confiscated the company’s paperwork and ledgers “from day one.”
“This is a good opportunity for the MACC to learn about start-ups and company valuation,” he quipped.
“They want the directors’ current account in the company, and I can tell the public and (MACC chief) Azam Baki that they will be shocked to find I have not taken a single sen from the company from day one, but it is my money that the company still owes,” he said.
Yesterday, the MACC took various documents from the Invoke office and held the employees there for up to seven hours to question them.
The 11:30 a.m. raid was verified by MACC senior director of investigation Hishamuddin Hashim, who described it as a “normal process” to Utusan Malaysia.
He claims that no statements were obtained from anyone during the operation. Instead, just an explanation for the seized documents was obtained, he allegedly told the daily.
He added that the police report filed by an NGO over Rafizi’s asset declaration, in which he disclosed net assets totaling RM18.85 million, was the reason for the raid.
BN’s raids, according to Rafizi, are likely to backfire since young voters would not be pleased with them.
He claimed that this is so because Invoke is a business that supports the goals of young people.
“Umno doesn’t understand this. It resonates with the young ones, where a 23-year-old can run a company.
“It is an attack on the aspiration of young people who want plenty of opportunities where they don’t need to be salaried employees but can run their own companies and get investments from overseas.
“The more they want to intimidate, the more the campaign will reverberate among the young voters,” he said.
He added this issue could also attract young voters to Harapan, “to not just cross the 100-seat mark but hopefully get a simple majority” in Parliament.
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