THAT Invoke Solutions Sdn Bhd, the data firm founded by PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli was raided by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) yesterday (Nov 15) – with his staff grilled for up to seven hours till around 9pm – may make politician wannabes wary about publicly declaring their assets.
Incepted in June 2016, Invoke is a firm specialising in data analytics and artificial-intelligence (AI) products for the Malaysian and regional markets.
With the national poll looming, one wonders if the action of the anti-graft buster agency is part of its investigation protocol or “selective prosecution” to put a dent into the election campaign of the aspirant Pandan MP.
What is certain, however, is that a non-governmental organisation calling itself Pertubuhan Jalinan Perpaduan Malaysia has recently lodged a report with the MACC against Rafizi, urging the commission to probe into his asset declaration pertaining to Invoke Solutions.
Its president Syed Mohammad Imran Syed Abdul Aziz had questioned where the RM16 mil funding for Invoke – as Rafizi has stated in his declaration – had originated from. All-in-all, Rafizi had declared a total of RM18,851,350 (RM18.85 mil) in net assets as of Oct 31 this year.
At a glance, Rafizi’s over-zealousness to portray a Mr Clean image has culminated in PKR making it mandatory for all its candidates standing for the 15th General Election (GE15) to declare their assets – including its president and Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibarhim.
While the Malaysian public welcomes it, the exercise has nevertheless received ‘lukewarm’ reaction from other PH coalition members with political rivals such as Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin dismissing it as just a “political gimmick” and PAS president Tan Sri Hadi Awang labelling it as “a form of stupidity”.
At his ‘Ayuh Malaysia’ ceramah series last night (Nov 15), Rafizi took a swipe at MACC for allowing the agency to be used as a political tool by “hidden hands”. But he assured that theirsuch action would not deter him and his team to stop exposing alleged wrongdoing involving those in public offices.
“This represents all that is wrong in this country. Where is your dignity, MACC?” he was cited by The Vibes news portal as saying.
“The rakyat is bringing up the littoral combat ship (LCS) scandal, issues concerning our national security and flood mitigation infrastructure, of which evidence has been provided – yet who do they decide to chase? Little kids.”
Rafizi further claimed that he has furnished ample evidence implicating incumbent Mersing MP Datuk Abdul Latiff Ahmad with regard to the LCS scandal but instead “they (MACC) come after me even though funding (for Invoke Solutions) does not involve public coffers.”
Unperturbed by the raid, Rafizi vowed to reveal more information today to incriminate caretaker environment and water minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man – who is also PAS deputy president – over an alleged approval granted for a RM2 bil flood mitigation project after the dissolution of Parliament.
“I want to see then how MACC and (its chief commissioner) Tan Sri Azam Baki will respond,” he added. – Nov 16, 2022
Main photo credit: Utusan
