SUNGAI BULOH: Pakatan Harapan vice-president Datuk Seri R Ramanan has denied being involved in a supposed scheme to settle a "corporate mafia" scandal, stating that he does not own any shares in public companies.
Ramanan also challenged controversial businessman Victor Chin to name the Member of Parliament who allegedly received a RM9.5mil payment to settle the issue.
"Only Chin can answer who is Mr R. But I am aware that some irresponsible individuals are trying to link me with this.
"Apparently, millions of shares were transferred to me. I do not hold any public shares - zero," he said.
Ramanan told a special press conference at his service centre in Sungai Buloh on Wednesday (March 25) that he did not think any MP in their right frame of mind would be transferring millions of shares.
He added that share transactions involving MPs would have been flagged as suspicious by financial institutions such as Bank Negara and the Securities Commission (SC).
The allegations surfaced after Chin, also known as Chin Boon Loong, produced a 40-page document detailing a timeline of events.
ALSO READ: Stop making wild claims from abroad, come back to M'sia, Ramanan tells Victor Chin
Chin claimed a Pakatan MP asked for RM10mil to resolve the issue, though he said he only managed to provide RM9.5mil initially.
He alleged the final RM500,00 was withheld because the promised resolution never materialised.
Meanwhile, Ramanan claimed that recently, cyber-troopers have accused him of accepting RM9.5mil from Chin.
Ramanan said it is peculiar that PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli is defending Chin publicly.
“He is protecting such cases (corporate mafia), but he is attacking the party, as if he is trying to save the party. What is his agenda?” he asked.
Ramanan said when a party is being attacked with such a serious allegation, he has a duty as a vice president to defend the party from false accusations.
“If we sit quietly, people will start to think this is real,” said Ramanan.
Ramanan said it is sad that Rafizi is not using the right channels to voice his dissatisfaction.
“We allow freedom of speech (in PKR) and we allow him to speak his grievances. It is sad when he does not use proper channels.
“This has been his nature from the beginning, which is not something new,” added Ramanan.
Asked if he had spoken to PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim about the matter, Ramanan said he hasn’t done so, as the Prime Minister has other pressing matters to worry about, such as the ongoing global energy crisis.
“At the current state of the world economy, the PM has better things to worry about than this,” added Ramanan.
The “corporate mafia” claims involve allegations that senior Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers orchestrated intimidation campaigns, which allegedly pressured executives and shareholders of public-listed firms to resign or sell their shares at steep discounts to a network of connected businessmen.
The MACC have since denied the claims, labelling them as an attempt to tarnish the credibility of its investigations and enforcement actions.
