Is Malaysia Harbouring Jakarta S Wanted Gasoline Godfather Riza Chalid A K A Indonesian Version Of Jho Low

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THE opposition has seemingly demanded Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to explain his actual connection with oil tycoon Muhammad Riza Chalid who is now a key suspect in the high-profile corruption case involving Indonesian state-owned oil and gas giant Pertamina.
Following the recently-concluded 13th Annual Consultation between Malaysia and Indonesia, PAS activist Nurul Islam Mohamed Yusoff claimed that even the Indonesian Anti-Corruption Society (MAKI) coordinator Boyamin Saiman had urged President Probowo Subianto to seek PMX’s consent to extradite Riza to Indonesia.
“According to Boyamin, Riza now resides in Malaysia and had a friendly relationship with PMX before he became PM,” the Central PAS Information Committee Research and Policy Department director penned on his Facebook page.

“It was reported on Oct 2, 2022 (prior to the 15th General Election) that PMX brought Riza to meet the Sultan of Kedah. In a ceramah, (now Home Minister) Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail conformed it was true that PMX brought Riza but only as a friend.
“I, for one, have never come across anyone deliberately bringing someone they only ‘know in general’ to meet the palace.”
PMX acknowledges ‘friendship’
For the record, Indonesian news portal Tempo cited PMX as saying on Tuesday (July 29) that Putrajaya does not interfere in the legal affairs involving Riza.
Speaking during a meeting with several editors-in-chief in Jakarta, PMX acknowledged knowing and having met Riza Chalid but emphasised, “Let the legal process in Indonesia continue”.
But he did not explicitly respond to questions regarding Riza’s presence in Malaysia.
Riza Chalid is also known as “The Gasoline Godfather” due to his dominance in the petroleum oil import business through his company PetralRecall that on July 12, Indonesia’s Attorney General’s Office (AGO) had named Riza as a suspect in a corruption case pertaining to fuel imports at subsidiaries of its state-owned oil and gas giant Pertamina that incurred trillions in state losses.
This came about as investigators at the Office of the Assistant Attorney General for Extraordinary Crimes had found enough evidence to name the tycoon a suspect amid their investigation into the case in which seven suspects, including Riza’s son Kerry Adrianto, were arrested in February.
Following this, Indonesian news agency Antara reported on July 21 that the country’s Immigration and Corrections Ministry has traced Riza’s last-known whereabouts to Malaysia.
According to the ministry, Riza had departed Indonesia on Feb 6 for Malaysia and had not returned since.
Elaborating further, Nurul Islam also highlighted a report by opposition-slant MalaysiaNow news portal which claimed that Riza had opened a rare earth elements (REE) mining company on the day PMX became PM.
“As a result of the check, I found that there is a company Triple Golden Innovation Sdn Bhd (registration number 1489064-K) which was registered on Nov 23, 2022 which is the day before PMX was sworn in. This may be a coincidence,” added the PAS man. –  Focus Malaysia

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