Rafizi pressed further on 'broken promises' over Invoke shares

PKR's Rafizi Ramli has been further drawn into a public spat involving Invoke Solutions after acknowledging that the staff of the party-linked data firm had not been allocated shares despite a promise made five years ago to reward them for their hard work and contributions.

Yesterday, Rafizi, in response to questions on his inclusion of some RM17 million in Invoke shares as his personal wealth, said the staff would be rewarded "in the future", adding that this could happen once the company is listed on the stock exchange.

"When Invoke is listed, they all will have shares, and they all can live comfortably in their youth. But on condition that they must be intelligent, creative, work hard, brave and honest," the Pandan candidate said.

Bersatu leader Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad said Rafizi had broken his promise on sharing Invoke wealth with employees, brushing off his latest pledge on the matter.

"Since he did not keep to his promise made five years ago, why should anyone believe his new promise?" he said today.

In 2017, Rafizi said he had not made a single sen from his investments in Invoke, adding that whatever capital he put in would be converted into shares to be distributed among "Invoke staff who have sacrificed all this while".

"I want them to know that Invoke is partly theirs because they are the ones who built it – so they should have a stake in Invoke," he had said.

But Latiff in his statement today again pressed Rafizi to explain why business tycoon Lee Choo Boo was the second biggest shareholder, followed by Rafizi's party colleague, Wong Chen. 

He also said Rafizi's conduct was "an eye-opener for the people".

"If this is the way a top leader of Pakatan Harapan (PH) treats his employees, what will be the fate of ordinary Malaysian workers under PH rule?

"Will the interests of ordinary hard-working Malaysians be taken care of by PH or the interests of big business tycoons? Who will get the lion’s share of the country’s wealth under Harapan, the ordinary people or business tycoons?"

Rafizi came under scrutiny following his declaration of assets in which he listed RM16.7 million in shares from Invoke 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.

Former PKR man Rashid Hasnon had also grilled Rafizi, reminding him that Invoke was set up as a public-interest initiative.

"He has profited, and the profit is massive," said Rashid, who is an exco member of Johor Perikatan Nasional.

"He also said that even if there is profit, Invoke cannot use the profit for personal gain, including for shareholders like himself. These statements can also be found in his own website."