Kuala Lumpur: A Malaysian opposition whistleblower was charged on Wednesday over his role in exposing a scandal that has rocked the government, in a move the opposition said made a mockery of anti-graft promises.
Rafizi Ramli, a top strategist for the People’s Justice Party led by Anwar Ebrahim, has been the key figure behind exposing a financial scandal involving money allegedly siphoned away from a project aimed at boosting beef output.
He was arrested Wednesday and charged under a provision of the country’s Banking and Financial Institutions Act (BAFIA) that restricts disclosure of bank account details.
Rafizi told AFP he and a former bank clerk charged with abetting him had pleaded not guilty in court before being released on bail.
“This government is not prepared to protect whistleblowers, but persecute them instead,” he said.
Anwar, who was sensationally ousted as deputy premier in 1998 and jailed on sodomy and corruption charges widely viewed as politically motivated, condemned Rafizi’s arrest as an attempt to muzzle him.
“The charge... is only a smokescreen to put fear into the hearts of Malaysians trying to unearth the truth behind contracts and cronyism involving (government) leaders,” he said in a statement.
The scandal, dubbed “Cowgate”, has proven highly embarrassing for Prime Minister Najib Razak, who has pledged to stamp out persistent corruption and must call elections by the middle of next year.
The National Feedlot Corporation (NFC), which was run by family members of then-minister for women’s affairs Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, received a 250-million-ringgit ($80 million) government soft loan to accelerate Malaysian beef production.
But an auditor-general’s report last year said it had failed in its mission.
The opposition pounced, alleging NFC funds were spent on luxury property in Malaysia and Singapore and other purchases including a luxury car and overseas travel.
Shahrizat resigned under pressure in April and her husband Mohammad Saleh Esmail has been charged with criminal breach of trust over the affair.
He is alleged to have used nearly 50 million ringgit of NFC funds without approval, including almost 10 million ringgit to buy two apartments, the independent news portal Malaysiakini reported earlier.
Rafizi is accused of revealing the details of four bank accounts controlled by the NFC and Mohamad Salleh. He has refused to divulge how he obtained the information but authorities allege bank clerk Johari Mohamad provided it.
Johari, an employee of Public Bank, denies the allegation.
The charge against Rafizi carries a maximum sentence of three years in jail and a three million ringgit fine.
Reports of large-scale corruption involving government projects are common in Malaysia. Najeeb’s government passed a Whistleblower Protection Act in 2010 amid rising concern over graft.
