This followed Rafizi’s initial claim on April 7 that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had traced the flow of funds from 1MDB to an individual close to the PAS leadership.
The PKR vice-president said this was the result of MACC’s investigation into the funds of the state investment arm which had purportedly been transferred into Prime Minister Najib Razak’s accounts.
“On Jan 28, 2017, I met a former senior officer of MACC, who had led the probe on 1MDB,” the Pandan MP told a press conference aired on Facebook live today.
“We shared information and knowledge about 1MDB… and he spoke about how MACC in its investigation, found that some of the amount channeled to the prime minister’s personal account, was then transferred to Nasharudin.”
He also alleged that the former senior MACC officer had spoken of the time Kuala Nerus PAS MP Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali had met him to inquire about the investigation on 1MDB.
According to Rafizi, the officer had told him everything there is to know about the investigation, but Khairuddin had not said a word about it.
Yesterday, Rafizi said he would lodge a report with MACC after revealing the identity of the person, whom he had earlier called “the bridge between Umno and PAS”.
He had previously said that once he unmasked the recipient of the funds, both Umno and PAS would have to deal with the fallout, especially if the attorney-general decided to close the case, as this would lead to speculation of government interference.
“The PAS leadership at every level will have to check whether they have ever received any form of financial aid or funding as there is a huge possibility that those funds came from the rakyat through 1MDB,” Rafizi had said.
Nasharudin was PAS deputy president from 2005 to 2013. He was sacked from PAS’ governing council in January 2013, but remained a member of the Islamist party.
The party’s late spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat said on Jan 30 that the decision to sack him was due to several factors, including Nasharudin going against the party’s stand and his failure to attend three council meetings in a row.
Subsequent reports noted that the Islamist party had sacked Nasharudin following his participation in Najib’s 2013 visit to Gaza.
Najib himself said PAS had sacked Nasharudin due to its uneasiness over Umno’s success in uniting the Muslims.
On Oct 28, 2015, Nasharudin was appointed CEO of the Global Movement of Moderates Foundation (GMM), replacing Saifuddin Abdullah who vacated the position after quitting Umno to join PKR.
In December, he said his appointment had received the blessings of PAS although he no longer played an active role in the party, and represented neither the Islamist party nor Umno with his position.
He is also chair of the Nassar Foundation, a non-government organisation, a fellow of Yayasan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia (YADIM) and a member of the Council of Islamic Chinese Relations (CICR).
He was formerly MP for Yan (1999-2004) and Bachok (2008-2013).