PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli has admitted that he was misinformed about a minister’s brother being awarded a million-ringgit government contract today.

Following threats of legal action from Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Rahman Dahlan, Rafizi conceded he had made a mistake, but said that did not mean the minister did not have to answer other questions.

“I have double checked and confirmed that it is not his brother – the information was not correct,” Rafizi told The Malaysian Insight.

He had alleged earlier today that the EPU, a unit under Rahman in the Prime Minister’s Department, had awarded a million-ringgit contract to organise an expo without open tender to event management company, Pico Integrated Exhibits (M) Sdn Bhd, whose chief executive officer Raslan Dahlan was allegedly Rahman’s older brother.

The expo in question is Expo Negaraku at Dataran Merdeka, running from November 15 until Friday, which showcases large-scale infrastructure projects initiated by the government.

Rahman issued a statement today stating Raslan was not his brother and that he would consult his lawyers on his legal options regarding  Rafizi’s accusation of nepotism.

A defiant Rafizi said he would not be deterred from pursuing the matter.

“[It] does not answer the other question: how much did they (the EPU) spend appointing an event manager for the month-long Expo Negaraku?

“I will continue on this trail because even if it’s not his brother, there are many other issues that he has to answer for,” said the Pandan MP.

Rafizi added that Rahman was free to sue if he found his statements defamatory. – December 11, 2017.