PKR director of strategy Mohd Rafizi Ramli has filed an application to the Shah Alam High Court to have charges against him for exposing National Feedlot Corporation’s (NFC) bank accounts dropped.

His lawyer N Surendran explaining the move said, “The entire proceedings constitute an abuse of power by the public prosecutors to satisfy their political masters.”

NONE “It also goes against public policy because what Rafizi has done is to expose abuse of public funds,” he told reporters outside the court today.

He added that the application is to send a clear message to the prime minister not to abuse the judiciary to pressure the opposition to stop exposing the government’s wrongdoings.

“We want to prove that the courts will not allow its system to be abused by the government to suppress opposition figures,” said Surendran.

Rafizi commented that this will be a test case on the provisions of law with regards to the exposure of government abuses.

“If we do not bring this case to a higher level to have it dropped, our judicial system will be abused in future to punish those who try to expose government wrongdoings.

The effect (of this charge) on our society is that it will in future scare off whistleblowers,” he said.

Cowgate revisited

Rafizi has been charged with contravening Section 97 of the Banking and Financial Institutions Act (Bafia) for disclosing to the media four financial accounts related to the NFC and its chairperson Mohd Salleh Ismail.

Present with Rafizi today was Public Bank clerk Johari Mohamad who has been charged along with the PKR leader for the exposure with abatement under Section 112(1)©) of the same act.

Both face a three-year jail sentence or a RM3 million fine if found guilty.

Rafizi had alleged that Mohamad Salleh, the husband of former minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, and his children have abused a RM250 million soft loan from the government for personal uses.

Mohamad Salleh himself has been charged with two counts of criminal breach of trust (CBT) and two alleged offences under the Companies Act 1965 involving a total of RM49.7 million, related to the purchase of two luxury condominium units.

The scandal surrounding NFC resulted in Shahrizat not seeking another term as minister after her senatorship expired in April.

Rafizi to hit the road to expose Bafia abuse