Ex Sapura Ceo Sues Rafizi Over Bailout Issue

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Newly elected PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli has been hit by a lawsuit over the bailout issue of Sapura Energy Bhd (SEB).
In a blog posting today, the former Pandan MP said he was served the writ of summons by lawyers acting for former Sapura Energy CEO Shahril Shamsuddin on May 11.
However, the veteran politician reiterated that he is prepared to defend in court his statements linked to former premier Najib Abdul Razak’s urging the government to bail out Sapura Energy.
Rafizi contended that his statements were made to protect the public interest.
He referred to his previous legal victories in 14 court cases involving the issues surrounding the National Feedlot Corporation, 1MDB, Majlis Amanah Rakyat, Tabung Haji and Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera.
“The writ was to confirm that Messrs Zul Rafique & Partners, counsel for Shahril Shamsuddin, had filed in court a suit against me regarding my statements following Najib Abdul Razak’s urging for the government to inject funds to save SEB.
“I take the stance to uphold my statements in court as they were made to safeguard the interest of the public.
“The hearing of Shahril’s suit is an important milestone in our efforts to ensure the people’s investment in public institutions (such as Permodalan Nasional Berhad, Employees Provident Fund, Retirement Fund Incorporated, Tabung Haji and others) fulfil the required governance for public investments.
“In an economic structure that involves large investments of the people’s money in public listed companies, the required governance for public investments must be tighter to prevent loss of the people’s savings when these companies incur major losses,” Rafizi wrote.
According to the posting, Rafizi is represented by lawyer Ranjit Singh from the law firm Ranjit Singh & Yeoh.
When contacted by Malaysiakini this afternoon, Ranjit confirmed his client was being sued.
The PKR number two has been vocal about the problems facing Sapura Energy and the feasibility of Najib’s proposal for the government to bail out the public-listed firm.
It is understood that the civil action against Rafizi was over at least one of his statements made regarding the issue. - Mkini

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