Rafizi greeted with more questions after defending jump in personal wealth

PKR's Rafizi Ramli has found himself facing more questions over his recent declaration of assets which showed a leap in his personal wealth due to his controversial inclusion of shares from a company linked to his party.

The PKR deputy president had attacked critics who questioned the inclusion of shares from Invoke Solutions, a company he set up, calling them "trivial" and "shallow".

But Bersatu's Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad said Rafizi had yet to answer regarding Invoke's nature as a non-profit body, a description given by the latter himself in 2017, as well as a promise to distribute the shares to some 80 staff members as a reward for their contributions.

"Instead, Rafizi holds 73% of the shares. A business tycoon named Lee Boo Choo owns the second largest bloc of shares and PKR’s Wong Chen, the third biggest share. 

"What about the poor 80 employees of Invoke who were promised shares in the wealth of Invoke?" Latiff said in the latest of a series of statements following Rafizi's asset declaration last week.

"Why is Rafizi avoiding answering these questions and instead trying to divert the matter by hurling abuse at us?"

Rafizi said yesterday that he had already made RM2 million by the time he was 30, through his work in the oil and gas industry. 

Detailing his salary progression over seven years at national oil company Petronas, he said: "That's why I had savings that reached RM2 million by the age of 30 and these savings were used to start a company."

He also claimed that Invoke had begun making profits in its second year, unlike most start-ups.

Rafizi was previously questioned by Perikatan Nasional leader Rashid Hasnon, after his asset declaration showed a jump of RM17 million compared to just seven years ago.

Rashid also questioned the inclusion of RM16.7 million in shares from Rafizi's Invoke Solutions, saying the latter himself had stated that the company was set up in the name of public interest. 

Rafizi had included the RM16.7 million in shares as part of a total of RM19.67 million in assets owned.

Besides the RM16.7 million declared as "investments", Rafizi listed RM1.1 million in his Employees Provident Fund account as of Oct 31, as well as RM1.6 million in two properties under his name including a three-storey house in Bukit Antarabangsa, Kuala Lumpur.

Latiff said that having published his asset declaration, Rafizi should not complain about questions asked "in the spirit of transparency and accountability".

"There is increasing public outrage over Invoke, which was meant to be a vehicle for a public interest cause. 

"Will the 16 Million Dollar Man Rafizi Ramli provide answers to the public, including those who generously donated to Invoke?" he said.