PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli said he believes Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin's mentality is not much different from that of the members of Pekida.

Rafizi at a press conference today said this in response to Khairy who had said that Rafizi was wrong to assume that Umno Youth vice-chief Khairul Azwan Harun was guilty by association in the Mara property purchases scam in Melbourne.

"It's disappointing that the Umno Youth chief, who was educated at Oxford University, has a political mentality not much different from Pekida and Umno Youth members who were not educated at Oxford," said Rafizi .

Malay rights group Pekida is generally associated with hooliganism while advocating extreme stands.

Rafizi ( photo ) on Monday had questioned the involvement of two non-Mara personnel in the property purchases and claimed that they had connections with the Umno Youth leadership.

Meanwhile, commenting further on Khairy, Rafizi said as an Oxford graduate he should be aware of the higher standards of politics in a much more mature and functioning democracy such as the British and American system.

"The people I mentioned had footprints in the involved transactions and I have showed their business involvement with two Umno Youth leaders.

"I had questioned how these individuals, who had no connections with Mara, suddenly became so important in the property purchases.

"We know that for such an opportunity, someone must have opened doors, to put it crudely, there must have been 'cables' involved," said Rafizi.

Question not defamatory in nature

Explaining further, Rafizi said should he be involved with a murderer, it would not suffice for him to simply say he had nothing to do wth the murderer.

"I cannot just say that because the public will question my judgment of character, how I could be involved with such people in the first place," he said.

Meanwhile, on Khairul ( photo ) who said that he would take action against him, Rafizi said he was confident that his question was not defamatory in nature.

"It was a question that anyone would have asked and the same answer one would expect of a public official.

"If I was involved with those accused of misappropriation, it's my duty to answer openly and transparently whether I am involved or not," he said.

Meanwhile, responding to Rural and Regional Development Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal who defended Mara Inc Sdn Bhd's property purchases in Melbourne, Rafizi pointed out that the fact remains how Mara Inc had paid for a much higher price than the market price for the properties.

"If these properties are so profitable, then Mara should sell them now," he said.

Shafie on Monday had claimed that Mara made a paper gain of approximately RM45 million for the four properties - 21, Queen Street, 333, Exhibition Street, Dudley International House and 746, Swanston Street.

On this, Rafizi quipped that his "old house would also be of higher value after three years".

As for Shafie's refusal to answer the allegations raised by him, Rafizi said by public officials hiding behind the excuse of investigations would only strengthen the rakyat's belief that there was indeed misappropriation.

"It's his loss not to refute. It will only benefit whistleblowers like us and will only add credibility to what we expose," he said.