PETALING JAYA: Bersama leader Rafizi Ramli has accused Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of sidestepping the bigger issues surrounding the "corporate mafia" allegations against the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
Rafizi expressed disappointment with Anwar's response to questions on the issue in the Dewan Rakyat today, saying the allegations were not the usual claims of corruption or abuse of power.
"The scandal refers to allegations of groups in enforcement agencies like MACC and the police who allegedly colluded with groups of businessmen to pressure other businessmen into 'handing over' their companies.
"The corporate mafia allegations are extraordinary because they claim that criminal syndicates have infiltrated key enforcement agencies.
"The questions regarding these allegations were not touched on or answered by Anwar in Parliament today," the former PKR deputy president said in a statement.
Earlier, Anwar told the Dewan Rakyat that the government inherited a system that lacked transparency, allowing corporate crimes and market manipulation to go largely unchecked for decades.
He said weaknesses in the previous system meant enforcement action was rarely taken in major cases involving billions of ringgit in losses, including corporate takeovers and banking transactions allegedly influenced by political interference.
Anwar also alleged that several cases involving so-called corporate mafia activities were linked to an influential former finance minister who controlled substantial financial resources.
The prime minister also denied that a current minister had received RM9.5 million from a businessman, saying the allegation was a baseless political statement.
He also said the minister concerned had taken the matter to court. While Anwar did not name the minister, the person accused of receiving RM9.5 million is human resources minister R Ramanan.
Rafizi asked if Ramanan had truly initiated any court action, saying there were no reports of this.