Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan today said Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli had erroneously claimed that Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL), the special purpose vehicle for the RM46 billion East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project, was not owned by the Finance Ministry.

Rahman said while it was true that the initial shareholders of the company were in the names of two individuals, namely Finance Ministry officials Ahmad Suhaimi Endut and Yusof Ismail, the ownership had since been transferred to the Finance Ministry.

Rahman, who is in charge of the Economic Planning Unit, said Rafizi was not privy to this information as the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) document on MRL he obtained was outdated.

"Let me once again explain, in plain words, why Rafizi Ramli is wrong and knowingly misleading the people.

"The said shares have been transferred to the Minister of Finance (Incorporated) and Federal Lands Commissioner (FLC) on Oct 12, 2016," he said in a statement today.

"Any changes in ownership (based on any transfer of shares) will not be reflected on SSM system until the said company has lodged the yearly annual return.

"That explains why the search report with SSM by Rafizi is still showing the two officials as the shareholders of MRL when in fact the current shareholders are MOF and FLC," he added.

Rahman said MRL, a new company, has 18 months to hold its first annual general meeting, after which it needs to submit its annual return and its SSM information will then be updated.

He added that based on the Companies Act 1965, a company is also not required to submit to the SSM for registration of any transfer of shares.

"If only Rafizi did his homework before accusing, he would not be seen as someone so desperate to score political brownie points at the expense of his own credibility."  

Yesterday, Rafizi expressed concern that the special purpose vehicle which will oversee the multi-billion ringgit project were in the names of two individuals, as displayed by the SSM document.

As such, he said Putrajaya's cannot dismiss the issue by simply claiming that the company was still backed by the Finance Ministry.