The dispute between Rafizi Ramli and R. Ramanan escalates as Rafizi prepares legal action amid allegations involving RM9.5 million and the corporate mafia.
PETALING JAYA: Former Economy Minister Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli said he had instructed his lawyers to initiate legal proceedings against Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri R. Ramanan over remarks made at a press conference yesterday.
In a statement today, Rafizi said his legal team believed there were grounds for a defamation lawsuit, alleging that Ramanan’s statements had exceeded the limits of permissible comment under defamation law.
“I have therefore instructed my lawyers to begin legal proceedings against R. Ramanan. This action is also appropriate given that R. Ramanan continues to evade answering several allegations concerning him and corruption.
“If R. Ramanan refuses to sue me, his press conference yesterday has now opened the way for me to take him to court over the allegations he made against me,” he said.
Rafizi said he had provided his legal team with a video recording and transcript of Ramanan’s press conference for review.
He also claimed that Ramanan had acknowledged he had not initiated court proceedings over Rafizi’s earlier allegation that a PKR MP had received RM9.5 million to resolve a case linked to what has been described as the “corporate mafia”.
According to Rafizi, Ramanan had reiterated that he would not pursue legal action over the allegation, despite previously challenging those who implicated him to take him to court.
Rafizi said this appeared to contradict Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s statement in Parliament earlier this week that Ramanan had initiated legal proceedings.
“I leave it to Members of Parliament to take the next step by referring the Prime Minister to Parliament’s Rights and Privileges Committee for action over his untrue statement in Parliament,” he said.
Rafizi added that Ramanan had made various allegations against him at yesterday’s press conference, including claims relating to corruption.
On Thursday, Ramanan challenged Rafizi to provide evidence for his allegation that the PKR vice-president had received RM9.5 million from a businessman to resolve issues associated with the alleged “corporate mafia”.
Ramanan questioned why Rafizi had not made public any supporting documents, despite the latter’s claim of having evidence for six to seven months.
He also questioned whether legal action against Rafizi would be worthwhile, suggesting that it could place a burden on the public if Rafizi sought donations to fund his legal expenses.
Drawing a comparison with Rafizi’s previous disclosures concerning the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC), Ramanan said those earlier claims had been accompanied by documents and other supporting material, unlike the current allegations, which he challenged Rafizi to substantiate.
Ramanan further alleged that the “corporate mafia” controversy was being used to divert attention from other issues, including questions concerning vending machine contracts and allegations involving Rafizi’s political associates.
He challenged Rafizi to pursue legal action if he considered Ramanan’s remarks to be false, adding that his priority was protecting the interests of Malaysia’s 17.34 million workers rather than engaging in political disputes.