Group demands jewellery expose probe, Rafizi wants to meet Deepak
The carpet dealer, however, has denied seeing the jewellery bills but Rafizi claimed today the documents were provided by Deepak himself through a third party linked to PKR
By Boo Su-Lyn and Syed Jaymal Zahiid, The Malaysian Insider
A journalists group wants an investigation of PKR’s Rafizi Ramli revelations about carpet dealer Deepak Jaikishan’s purported US$4 million (RM12.4 million) jewellery purchases for dignitaries although the controversial businessman has denied the documents.
In turn, Rafizi is willing to meet the carpet dealer about the documents which were handed over to the PKR strategy director through a third party.
“The Young Journalists Club of Malaysia (KWMM) is very worried about the trend of the federal opposition exposing private and confidential documents, whether owned by individuals or the government, for insidious purposes,” club president Dzulkarnain Taib said in a statement today.
“KWMM takes the irresponsible behaviour of an opposition leader like Rafizi (picture) very seriously, who has made baseless assumptions and allegations without strong evidence. This was done merely for political purposes and to get more votes, since the 13th general election will be held soon,” he added, using the club’s Bahasa Malaysia acronym.
Rafizi was charged last August with violating the Banking and Financial Institutions Act (BAFIA) for allegedly exposing confidential banking details of NFCorp.
The NFCorp runs the National Feedlot Centre (NFC), a RM250 million federal-funded cattle-farming project that has been at the centre of a major national scandal.
Yesterday, Rafizi provided the media copies of transaction records, including one for a US$115,000 purchase of polished diamonds from Dehres Ltd, a fine jewellery supplier from Hong Kong.
Another document detailed transactions worth US$3.9 million involving the purchases of rings, necklaces and earrings from Firestone Co Ltd, another Hong Kong-based fine jewellery supplier.
Rafizi has said that Deepak was acting as a jewellery middleman for a local dignitary.
The carpet dealer, however, has denied seeing the jewellery bills.
Deepak also accused Rafizi of making the exposé for political mileage.
But Rafizi claimed today the documents were provided by Deepak himself through a third party linked to PKR and suggested that the carpet dealer’s outburst yesterday was caused by the party’s initial refusal to “champion” the issue.
