Member of Parliament for Pandan and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) secretary-general and vice president Rafizi Ramli was arrested under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) this evening.
Police officers made the arrest as soon as the opposition lawmaker left the Dewan Rakyat session in Parliament earlier today.
As is now standard operating procedure for him, Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar confirmed the arrest via his personal Twitter account:
Speaking to mStar, Rafizi’s compatriots in PKR, Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin and PKR communications director Fahmi Fadzil, also confirmed his arrest, with Fahmi adding that Rafizi’s lawyer were still trying to determine the exact location of his detainment at this time.
Yesterday, the Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT) announced that it would pursue legal action against Rafizi, following the lawmaker’s allegation that Malaysia’s military veterans were getting their pension payments late, in part due to LTAT being embroiled in attempts to bail out scandal-ridden sovereign investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
Rafizi claimed that 1MDB had failed to meet a September 2015 deadline to repay a loan amounting to RM396.4 million from Perbadanan Perwira Harta Malaysia, a subsidiary of the LTAT, because 1MDB had diverted funds slated to pay off debts to settle the interest on its other, larger, loans.
